Twitter sues US govt over surveillance laws violating freedom of speech

Social networking site Twitter has sued the US government over surveillance laws which, according to the company, violates the right to free speech.

The BBC reports that under current regulations, Twitter cannot reveal certain information about government requests for users' data relating to national security.

Twitter says that it filed the lawsuit to force the US government to be more transparent about personal data requests.

Twitter's lawyer, Ben Lee, wrote in a blog post that it was the company's belief that it was entitled under the First Amendment to respond to its users' concerns and to the statements of US government officials by providing information about the scope of US government surveillance.

Twitter filed the case against the US Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in a northern California court on Tuesday, the report said.