Pennsylvania politician attacks free speech on Twitter
Can you post anonymous critiques of political figures on Twitter? Not if Pennsylvania attorney general Tom Corbett has his way.
Follow @ifw_cringelyIf they were ever to hold a Twitter "Twit of the Year" contest, I know who'd get my vote: Pennsylvania Attorney General (and Republican candidate for governor) Tom Corbett.
Not that I give a rodent's behind about politics in the Keystone State (though the Webcam shenanigans at those Lower Merion schools give me pause), but Corbett has proven himself more than worthy of the title, given his recent actions surrounding Twitter.
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Two weeks ago, a grand jury Corbett is using to investigate political corruption in PA issued a subpoena to Twitter, demanding the "name, address, contact information, creation date, creation Internet protocol address, and any and all log-in Internet addresses" of two anonymous tweeters who've issued a steady stream of tweets criticizing the attorney general and his investigation.
This is stupid on so many levels I don't know where to begin.
First, let's talk about the Streisand effect, which can be summarized as "the quickest way to spread information across the Net is by attempting to squash it." The tweeps whose identities have been sought -- @BFbarbie and @CasablancaPA -- just had their follower counts boosted by about 1,000 percent. Barbie went from around 60 followers on Wednesday to nearly 600 as I write this; Casablanca's following grew from 120 to nearly 800 -- not Ashton Kutcher-style numbers, but still.
Even better, the CasablancaPA blog where many of these tweets were directed saw its readership grow sevenfold, according to one of its posts. I'm sure it's even bigger now.
