As quickly as the battle over a “rogue” government Twitter account began, it’s already been resolved. Just yesterday, Twitter filed suit against the U.S. government after the Department of Homeland Security sent the social media company a summons that sought any identifying information for an anonymous account that’s been critical of Trump’s immigration policies. The account, @ALT_uscis, was created not long after it looked like National Parks Service had been silenced for sharing posts about the teeny crowds who showed up for Trump’s inauguration. It’s since drawn the ire of the current administration, so much so that Homeland Security sought to “unmask” the individual(s) behind it.
Twitter pushed back by filing a lawsuit, citing freedom of speech, but now Deadline reports that the whole thing’s kind of a non-starter, as Homeland Security’s already withdrawn its summons. So Twitter’s dropped its suit not without prejudice. The person(s) behind @ALT_uscis were being represented by the American Civil Liberties Union in this matter, which, despite its quick resolution, was enough to drive them off Twitter for a while.
There’s been no tweet-related word from the White House or Trump, but they’ve got their hands full right now.