[Overtonwindow]

With all due respect, the justice department probably got the subpoena to cover all their bases. Regardless of why, I don't think there is any right of privacy through Twitter. It's a private company. If they want to hand over Ken White's identity, without a subpoena, they can.

[monochromatic]

Sure, they can if they want to. But a judge shouldn’t be able to force them to do so, not without more than receiving a smiley face tweet.

[pavel_lishin]

> With all due respect, the justice department probably got the subpoena to cover all their bases.

Of course - it's cheap to fire them off, and there's virtually no downside to doing so as far as I'm aware. (Short of the fact that the time can be put to better use.)

[compiler-guy]

Yes, twitter can do what it wants.

But the government can't _make_ twitter do what the government wants, at least not without good reason.