All Gone: Twitter Pulls the Plug on 30 Versions of Politwoops Around the World

From The Open States Foundation:

This weekend, Open State Foundation was informed by Twitter that it suspended API access to Diplotwoops and all remaining Politwoops sites in 30 countries. After Twitter suspended API access for the US version of Politwoops for displaying deleted tweets of US lawmakers on May 15, Open State Foundation was still running Politwoops in 30 countries, including the European parliament. Politwoops automatically monitored politicians’ profiles for deleted tweets and made them visible.

In 2014 Open State Foundation launched Diplotwoops, screening deleted messages by diplomats and embassies around the world. These sites have been extensively used and cited by journalists around the world.

On Friday night, August 21, Open State Foundation was informed by Twitter that it suspended API access to Diplotwoops and all remaining Politwoops sites in 30 countries. After Twitter suspended API access for the US version of Politwoops for displaying deleted tweets of US lawmakers on May 15, Open State Foundation was still running Politwoops in 30 countries, including the European parliament.

Twitter said that its decision to suspend access to Politwoops followed a ‘thoughtful internal deliberation and close consideration of a number of factors’ and that it doesn’t distinguish between users. Twitter wrote: ‘Imagine how nerve-racking – terrifying, even – tweeting would be if it was immutable and irrevocable? No one user is more deserving of that ability than another. Indeed, deleting a tweet is an expression of the user’s voice.’

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The list of countries where Twitter blocked Politwoops includes Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Denmark, Portugal, Egypt, Estonia, France, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, South Korea, Macedonia, Norway, Belgium, United Kingdom, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey and the Vatican. It also includes members of the European Parliament.

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Coverage

Twitter Has Killed Politwoops, Which Monitored Politicians’ Deleted Tweets in 30 Countries (via The Next Web)

See Also: Boo! “Twitter’s Terrible Decision to Block Politwoops” (June 4, 2015)

See Also: Twitter Hid Behind its Developer Agreement to Shut Politwoops Down, And It Could Get Messy (via The Next Web; June 4, 2015)