Twitter subpoenaed over violent tweets to Mike Tyson show
After a user tweeted "people are gonna die" at the theater where Mike Tyson is staging a one-man show, New York police subpoena the social network to hand over info on the user's account.
Updated 11:39 a.m. PT on Aug. 8
Fearing a possible shootout at the Broadway theater where former boxing champ Mike Tyson is performing a one-man show, the New York Police Department has subpoenaed Twitter to cough up information on a specific user's account, according to the Associated Press.
"This s--- ain't no joke yo I'm serious people are gonna die just like in aurora," one of the user's tweets read, according to the Associated Press. Another tweet from the same user cautioned, "I'm in Florida rite now, but it'll happen i promise I'm just finishing up my hit list."
The menacing tweets seemed to be directed at the audience of Tyson's solo show called "Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth," according to the Associated Press. Apparently Twitter has handed over some information to police on the user's tweets, but the NYPD specifically wants the social network to give details about the user.
"We appreciate the timeliness and sensitivity of this matter, and have reviewed the reported Twitter account," Twitter told the NYPD in an e-mail, according to the Associated Press. "While we do invoke emergency disclosure procedures when it appears that a threat is present, specific and immediate, this does not appear to fall under those strict parameter as per our policies."
This isn't the first time Twitter has been subpoenaed by New York authorities. The social network is in the middle of a lawsuit with New York State over tweet records of an Occupy Wall Street protester, in which it is appealing a subpoena demanding it hand over three months of the protester's tweet history.
CNET contacted Twitter for comment. We'll update the story when we get more information.
Updated at 10:49 a.m. on Aug. 8: ABC is now reporting that Twitter has "turned over information it had initially denied to NYC police about the user" in question. The story isn't any clearer than that. We've again pinged Twitter for comment.
Updated at 11:39 a.m. on Aug. 8: A Twitter spokesman said the company had no comment, although he did provide this helpful link to the company's guidelines for law enforcement.