Twitter was fined $350,000 for failing to immediately comply with a Justice Department search warrant for records related to former President Donald Trump's account. The company argued that the nondisclosure order violated the First Amendment's free speech protections, but a district court judge ruled against the company and ordered Twitter to comply by February 7. Twitter missed that deadline and didn't produce the records until the evening of February 9, triggering the monetary sanctions.
The nondisclosure order was issued by the Justice Department in January, shortly after Trump was banned from Twitter for inciting the January 6th attack on the US Capitol. The order prohibited Twitter from notifying anyone about the warrant, including Trump himself. Twitter argued that the order violated its First Amendment rights, as it prevented the company from speaking out about a matter of public interest.
A district court judge disagreed with Twitter's argument, and ordered the company to comply with the warrant. Twitter appealed the decision, but a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit unanimously upheld the lower court's ruling.
The ruling is a significant setback for Twitter, and it could have implications for other social media companies that are asked to comply with search warrants. The ruling suggests that social media companies may not be able to challenge nondisclosure orders on First Amendment grounds.
It is still unclear what the Justice Department will do with the records that Twitter has turned over. The company has said that it is cooperating with the investigation, but it has not said anything about the specific nature of the records that it has provided.
The investigation into Trump's role in the January 6th attack is ongoing, and it is possible that the Justice Department will bring charges against him. If that happens, the records that Twitter has turned over could be used as evidence against him.
