U.S. Subpoenas Twitter For Information On WikiLeaks

The United States has subpoenaed the social networking site Twitter for personal details of people connected to WikiLeaks.

A district court in the state of Virginia said it wants information from Twitter including user names, addresses, telephone numbers, and payment details.

Those named include WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and a member of the Icelandic government.

WikiLeaks on January 8 said it has reasons to believe Google and Facebook have also received court orders demanding details on users.

WikiLeaks outraged governments when it started releasing U.S. diplomatic cables in November, and has also been strongly condemned for posting secret documents on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The United States is examining possible charges against Assange over the posting of the classified cables.

The U.S. State Department recently warned foreign governments not to retaliate against human rights activists, journalists, or others whose dealings with American officials have been revealed in the secret diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks.

compiled from agency reports