The past June, when Iran was experiencing a huge uprising over the outcome of the presidential election, Twitter played a role in providing protesters with a means of communication. The State Department felt the service provided a vital service to the Iranian people that it contacted Twitter to postpone system upgrades.
Confirmation that the U.S. government had contacted Twitter came as the Obama administration sought to avoid suggestions it was meddling in Iran’s internal affairs as the Islamic Republic battled to control deadly street protests over the election result.
…
“We highlighted to them that this was an important form of communication,” said a State Department official of the conversation the department had with Twitter officials.
Yay! Freedom for the Iranian protesters! Yay! Let those voices be heard!
Apparently that only applies to people in countries the United States considers an enemy. The FBI arrested and charged a New York man with hindering prosecution after he allegedly utilized Twitter in order to help protesters at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh evade the police. What is hindering prosecution, you ask?
a person “renders criminal assistance” when, with intent to prevent, hinder or delay the discovery or apprehension of, or the lodging of a criminal charge against, a person who he knows or believes has committed a crime or is being sought by law enforcement officials for the commission of a crime, or with intent to assist a person in profiting or benefiting from the commission of a crime, he:
1. Harbors or conceals such person; or
2. Warns such person of impending discovery or apprehension; or
3. Provides such person with money, transportation, weapon, disguise or other means of avoiding discovery or apprehension
Here is the big assumption – and potentially the big risk prosecutors will run into – how will the government prove the intent of this individual? He was communicating publically available information, and unless he was specifically stating protesters should commit a crime or avoid being arrested for a crime someone committed, how could he be tried for hindering prosecution?
For the record, I don’t agree with the people who were staging protests at the G20; however, if you agree or disagree with the G20 protesters should have no impact this situation. It is flat out wrong for the U.S. to promote others to continue their protests (especially in governments they do not agree with) and then treat U.S. citizens – regardless of their political views – as if they are criminals for doing the exact same thing.
The only conclusion I can arrive at is the U.S. government is acting in a hypocritical fashion. If the United States truly stands for freedom for all then the United States needs to hold that view in all situations, both globally and locally.
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