Internet Privacy: Why Library of Congress Twitter Archives Could be a Bad Thing

April 14, 2010 - By Justin E. Gehrke

Today the Library of Congress announced, via a tweet, that they are set to obtain the entire archive of tweets. That’s right….every tweet. Specific details have yet to be published, but, reportedly, archives dating back to March 2006 will be kept for their historical value. At first glance, it does make sense, and they’re doesn’t seem to be anything heinous about it. Some tweets are historic in nature.

Take for example the first tweet from President Barack Obama, shortly after winning the 2008 Presidential elections, where he said…or tweeted: “We just made history. All of this happened because you gave your time, talent and passion. All of this happened because of you. Thanks” Just like a letter written by President Roosevelt to Winston Churchill discussing the Allied Alliance or an apology note from President George H. Bush to the Japanese Prime Minister regarding his unfortunate regurgitation, a simple, 140-character tweet can carry significant historical weight.

What about all those other tweets, though? You know…the ones that you may not have given much thought to before hitting the tweet button?

There are several categories of tweets that one wouldn’t want archived. Let’s separate them into two basic areas: Embarrassing Tweets and Potentially Incriminating Tweets.

Embarrassing Tweets

These are the tweets that you posted, without ever really thinking that they would be saved for posterity in the U.S. Capital. Below are a couple of examples found at random, via Twitter search.

• Example #1 – “#awkward a youtube video started when I put my phone in my back pocket, while in the restroom. I was hearing mumbling.”
• Example #2 – “As the Co Chief Napping Officer, you need to implement a napping regime for all employees. Naps are essential, like bacon. “
• Example #3 – “There are three people huddled around my boss ‘ desk admiring her Farmville farm…“

While there is nothing particularly awful about these tweets, they are not what one wants their life’s legacy based upon. I’m sure each of these Twitter users have tweeted some very intelligent, insightful and meaningful tweets, either before or after these. Unfortunately, these go in with the body of work, at the Library of Congress. The bottom line here is that you have to be careful what you tweet, when you tweet it, and where you tweet. Why? It’s Twitter. Someone else is always tweeting…or lurking and reading your tweets.

Potentially Incriminating Tweets

This category is potentially bothersome if you are averse to the idea of being put on trial and spending time in prison. These are the tweets that generally slide by because they’re “tweeted” in the heat of the moment and simply constitute a way to vent one’s frustrations. In a worse case scenario, though, they could…and likely would…be used against you in a court of law. Here are a couple of examples of ill-posted tweets, found via Twitter search.

• Example #1 – “If she cheats burn her whip n dump it in the desert! Cancel her insurance on the low prior 2 burning her car. She’ll be mad lol via my sis!”
• Example #2 – “Also, I steal from work every day I work; I don’t need a special day for it.”
• Example #3 – “I don’t carry a gun because I hate the government. I carry a gun because I understand the limitations of government.”

Technically, there is nothing criminal about these tweets. They do not violate any U.S. laws, statutes, etc. If something were to happen, and law enforcement authorities came across these, they could theoretically be used to augment other evidence and make you a “person of interest” or even worse an official “suspect”.

Putting It in Perspective

The purpose of this article is not to discourage one from tweeting, generate paranoia, or create a conspiracy theory. It is designed to simply heighten awareness regarding what people choose to post on Twitter. More than likely, an individual user’s tweets would never become an issue. The concern that arises, though, is the following:

• Will private Twitter feeds be included in the archives?
• Will non-U.S. Twitter feeds be included, as well?
• Where will the archives be held, and what safeguards are in place to protect the data?
• How will access to the archives by law enforcement and other government agencies be regulated?

These things come into question because, as it stands now, deleting your Twitter account will remove your posts from public view. Will they still be archived on Twitter’s vast array of backup servers, tapes, etc? Of course they will. Generally, though, those are not something that becomes accessible to the U.S. Government, its agencies, and law enforcement officials. Looking beyond government agencies, will anyone be able to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to obtain copies of your tweets?

There is no doubt that others will ask the same type of questions regarding personal privacy. Hopefully, the Library of Congress already has safeguards and policies in place that cover this. If not, they will certainly have to get moving and put something together. After all we are talking about ensuring U.S. Constitutional rights are afforded, as prescribed.

Again, generating fear is not the purpose. This article is simply intended to be a reminder to anyone who uses social networking platforms, like Twitter, Facebook, etc., or, for that matter, the internet at all that privacy is a reasonable expectation. Unfortunately, it is not one that is always delivered. So, the next time you’re ready to tweet a remark regarding your distaste with someone’s choice of website name, think about it for a minute or two. You may decide that’s not how you want history to remember you.

Note: The example tweets listed above were obtained via search query on Twitter.com, using simple keywords. The identities of the Twitter account users are intentionally omitted to protect their privacy.