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Could Twitter set up a warrant canary for every user? Append "/canary" to URLs and make it 404 if the data has been compromised.
by choward 7y ago
Could Twitter set up a warrant canary for every user? Append "/canary" to URLs and make it 404 if the data has been compromised.
- detaro 7y agoI'd be very surprised if the courts would follow the extremely narrow definition of "speech" required for this to work. Is there any legal precedent otherwise?
- sk0g 7y agoOr better yet, code 451!
- 1f60c 7y agoBut couldn't they force Twitter to keep updating the canary as part of the gag order?
- taywrobel 7y agoYou can’t force someone _to_ say something. You can only require they not say specific things. That’s the process by which the canary works. You set up a default state by which you say “this data has not been compromised”. Nobody can legally force you to say that in the event it has been compromised. At least not yet, and if we get there, I really do fear for us.
- pinkfoot 7y agoYes, you are not allowed to take any action to circumvent the gag order. Changing the status of the canary included. [From memory from some ancient HN thread]
- dodobirdlord 7y agoThe workaround is to make the canary automatically lapse frequently unless renewed. Precedent in the past regarding library books provides that you can't be compelled to do something by a gag order that qualifies as speech, and updating a canary daily with a statement like "As of {current_date} we know of no warrants that have been issued for {private_content}" probably qualifies. Have a static page, update the date value daily so long as it's true, stop updating it when it becomes false. Based on the library book precedent I think this would hold up.