Censoring transparency: Twitter denies Politwoops access to API

Twitter has blocked Politwoops from using its API, effectively killing the service that archived and published tweets deleted by politicians. Politwoops has a number of international sites, each concerned with the politicians of different countries and it monitored the account of prominent politicians for deleted tweets before publishing them for all to see.

The US version of the service was denied API access earlier in the year, but over the weekend Twitter extended the ban to a further 30 Politwoops accounts. The tweets deleted by those in politics are often far more telling and revealing than those that remain in place, and this was the reason for Politwoops existence. Not for the first time, Twitter has entered the political arena, indicating that it views the deletion decisions of elected politicians as more important than the right of the electorate to see tweets that have been self-censored.

Open State Foundation, the group behind all of the accounts, reports that it was contacted by Twitter and informed that its API access was being revoked following "thoughtful internal deliberation and close consideration of a number of factors". Used by journalists the world over, Politwoops prides itself on helping to increase the transparency of politicians and what they say.

Open State Foundation's director Arjan El Fassed says that it is important for people to be able to see precisely what has been tweeted by politicians:

What elected politicians publicly say is a matter of public record. Even when tweets are deleted, it's part of parliamentary history. These tweets were once posted and later deleted. What politicians say in public should be available to anyone. This is not about typos but it is a unique insight on how messages from elected politicians can change without notice.

Twitter has defended the move saying:

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.

Open State Foundation says that it will explore what other options are available to help it keep the electorate informed.