Twitter says it protects users' data

Twitter Inc said it will notify users if the micro-blogging service receives requests to disclose personal data and it protects their right to a legal defense.

“To the extent we can, we give users notice of requests so they have opportunity to defend themselves,” Twitter UK General Manager Tony Wang said in a post on his Twitter account.

The San-Francisco-based company requires a court order, or other valid legal process to disclose information about users, according to its website. Twitter will only respond to requests in compliance with US law, it says.

The micro-blogging service was sued in London by a football player who won an anonymity order banning the media from publishing stories about his alleged affair with a reality- television star. A Twitter user on May 8 had posted a series of messages claiming a number of UK celebrities had won so-called super-injunctions.

“Our policy is to notify users and we have fought to ensure user rights,” Twitter General Counsel Alexander Macgillivray said in a separate Twitter post.