By Carly Page for The Inquirer.
GIF SHARING SERVICE Twitter is warning developers that it won’t stand for them using its public programming kits or Gnip data to create surveillance tools.
The announcement, which comes a week after the UK government passed the Investigatory Powers Bill (IP Bill), sees Twitter reaffirming its anti-surveillance stance.
“As a company, our commitment to social justice is core to our mission and well established. And our policies in this area are long-standing,” Twitter said.
The social network has warned developers that it won’t stand for the creation of spy tools for law enforcement or otherwise, and has said that those who don’t stick to the rules will see their accounts suspended and their access to its Public APIs and data products yanked.
“We prohibit developers using the Public APIs and Gnip data products from allowing law enforcement – or any other entity – to use Twitter data for surveillance purposes. Period,” Twitter said, laying down the law.
“The fact that our Public APIs and Gnip data products provide information that people choose to share publicly does not change our policies in this area.”
While the crackdown won’t stop authorities from collecting information through other means, such as formal requests, Twitter notes that it’s going to step up its efforts to police those accessing data otherwise.
“Over the coming months, you’ll see us take on expanded enforcement and compliance efforts, including adding more resources for swiftly investigating and acting on complaints about the misuse of Twitter’s Public APIs and Gnip data products.
“The vast majority of developers respect the voices of people using Twitter, and we appreciate and support the creative and innovative work being done by these developers every day.”
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