CRACKDOWN

NYPD Reportedly Subpoenaed Reporter’s Twitter Data in Hunt for Leaks

The department invoked post-9/11 anti-terrorism legislation to demand the social media giant hand over the data, according to the New York Post.

The New York City Police Department reportedly cited a post-9/11 anti-terrorism law to subpoena a New York Post reporter’s Twitter data in a hunt for leaks. The Post, citing legal documents provided by Twitter, reports that the NYPD instructed the social media giant to hand over data associated with reporter Tina Moore’s account and the account’s connection history for a period of several days last October. At that time Moore had reportedly tweeted out photos from a bloody Brooklyn crime scene, which is believed to be at the center of the subpoena.

The NYPD ultimately withdrew the subpoena this week after being contacted by lawyers, and an official told the Post that Moore was not being targeted. “We are conducting an investigation of a person who leaked crime scene photos,” a New York City Police Department official was quoted as saying. “Tina Moore was never the focus of our investigation.” Legal experts interviewed by the Post condemned the NYPD’s decision to invoke anti-terrorism legislation to try to crack down on supposed media leaks, however. “They are throwing a hissy fit because their employees are telling the press of newsworthy items,” attorney Eric Sanders, a retired NYPD police officer, told the Post. “This is a fishing expedition.”