Look at who's watching you twitter

Twitter to your hearts content, but as this a piece on CommonDreams reports, you might want to know that you are subject to being watched - with the USA the biggest offender.

The release of a 'transparency report' by microblogging and social media company Twitter reveals that the US government is by far the most aggressive, and most successful, in seeking and obtaining private user information compared to other world governments.

Twitter's transparency report reveals the US government was the most successful in extracting information. (Photograph: Iain Masterton/Alamy) In the report, released late Monday, the US government is shown to be responsible for nearly 80% of all requests of Twitter user data. Of those US government requests, according to Twitter, 75% resulted in disclosure of "some or all" of the information related to the account.

Twitter says it notifies affected users of requests for their account info "unless we’re prohibited by law."

The transparency report -- Twitter's first -- reflects government demands for information from January 1, 2012 through June 30, 2012. Out of all nations, the US made 679 user information requests out of a total of 849, compared with 98 requests from the Japanese government, 11 each from the Canadian and British governments and less than 10 from a number of other countries.

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