The Justice Department has asked a district court to dismiss the bulk of a lawsuit by Twitter, which accuses the federal government of hamstringing its efforts to release information regarding requests the feds make for user data.
The suit alleges that the government has violated Twitter's First Amendment rights by limiting what it can disclose about the number of requests it receives.
In January 2014, the Justice Department, in a letter, relaxed restrictions, after a number of companies complained, but later in the year blocked Twitter from releasing a transparency report because it said the report did not meet the newly established standards and contained classified information.
In a motion filed with the court, the Justice Department noted its letter offered “permissive, advisory guidance” and said Twitter's speech is not restricted “in any way,” according to The Washington Post.
