Human Rights Groups Demand Twitter Reinstate Politiwoops

The organizations want to create a dialogue with the company about privacy and transparency.

A group of human rights and transparency organizations from around the world have demanded Twitter restore sites that tracked tweets deleted by politicians.

Twitter suspended API access for Politwoops and Diplotwoops in August, saying they deny users rights to freedom of expression. The services archived tweets deleted by politicians, tracking flip flopping views on a variety of issues including the release of former army sergeant Bowe Bergdahl.

"Imagine how nerve-racking—terrifying, even—tweeting would be if it was immutable and irrevocable? No one user is more deserving of that ability than another. Indeed, deleting a tweet is an expression of the user's voice," Twitter said of its decision to suspend Politiwoops.

In response, 17 groups, including Electronic Frontier Foundation, Free Press, Human Rights Watch, and the Sunlight Foundation wrote in a letter to Twitter that public officials should not be extended the same expectation of privacy on the social media platform as private users.

"When public officials use Twitter to amplify their political views, they invite greater scrutiny of their expression," the letter said. "Journalists and civil society utilize tools like Politwoops to understand the views and commitments of the people these politicians represent—and the politician or candidate's own intents and perspective. In this case, the citizen's right to freedom of expression—which includes access to information—outweighs the official's right to a retroactive edit."

In addition to demanding Twitter immediately restore Politiwoops access to its API, the organizations noted the company cut off the services after "minimal dialogue" with the organizations that created them, Open State Foundation and the Sunlight Foundation. The groups recommended the company "participate in multi-stakeholder organizations which facilitate meetings between civil society, investors, academics, and corporations on decisions impacting human rights."