While the platform has faltered in recent years, it seems to be the only major tech company taking a strong stance against Trump – such as refusing to build a Muslim registry

For all the hooing and hawing Silicon Valley expressed against Trump throughout the campaign, many seem to be okay working with Trump on some quite disturbing matters, such as creating a Muslim registry. But not Twitter.

The Intercept reported earlier this month that after talking with nine major tech companies about whether or not they would sell services to Trump develop a Muslim registry, Twitter was the only one at the time willing to say on the record that it would refuse to go along with such an effort.

Twitter also didn’t agree to disseminate a #CrookedHillary emoji on the platform during the run-up to the presidential election, which reportedly contributed to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey not being invited to Trump’s meeting with top tech executives in New York on Wednesday.

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And on Thursday, the ACLU wrote that Twitter asked Dataminr, a company that Twitter partly owns and provides a social media monitoring tool for the platform, to stop allowing federally funded fusion centers (local information centers that share threat-related data with the Department of Homeland Security) access to Dataminr’s tool. Twitter did so after the ACLU of California found out that the centers had access to Dataminr’s service and could use it to surveil users. Specifically, Twitter ordered Dataminr to disallow access because Twitter prohibits any entity from using Twitter’s data for surveillance purposes.

But will Twitter’s tough stance speak truth to power? Or will it just decrease the platform’s strength when facing down a Trump Administration?

Have any companies agreed to a Muslim registry?

Trump has voiced support for a Muslim registry in the past, telling NBC last November that it would just be “good management” to have people sign up, and that more than just databases are needed.

When The Intercept contacted nine tech companies with the following question, “Would [name of company], if solicited by the Trump administration, sell any goods, services, information, or consulting of any kind to help facilitate the creation of a national Muslim registry, a project which has been floated tentatively by the president-elect’s transition team?”, Twitter was the only one that said it would not cooperate.

Booz Allen Hamilton replied that it would not comment, and Microsoft responded that while it would not “talk about hypotheticals at this point,” that, “it will remain important for those in government and the tech sector to continue to work together to strike a balance that protects privacy and public safety in what remains a dangerous time.” Every other company they contacted — which were Facebook, Google, Apple, IBM, SRA International, and CGI — did not provide an answer, even after two weeks of emails and calls.

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Since then, Facebook has expressed opposition, but only in the wake of an email accidentally sent to BuzzFeed yesterday that deemed the issue a “straw man,” one that company reps should only discuss off the record. Having stonewalled for several weeks, this slip-up made it impossible for the company to continue doing so, lest it appear to still be dismissing the issue.

While it is admirable that Twitter has publicly stated that it would not support a governmental effort to build a Muslim registry, it is unclear if other titans in the industry actually would. It is equally likely that none of the remaining “no comment” companies would help Trump create such an engine, but cannot say so to the press to stay on comfortable terms with the Trump Administration, which they (understandably) hope to work with directly on a variety of other issues, particularly taxes, jobs, and immigration visas.

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However, just as equally, they could be secretly allowing Trump access to data for all sorts of security purposes, including a potential Muslim registry. At this point, it is impossible to know which side these companies fall on until they are able to share more of their opinions publicly. Upset at the lack of definitive statement, employees from many of these companies have come out against the registry, signing a public manifesto declaring, “We refuse to build a database of people based on their Constitutionally-protected religious beliefs,” and, “We refuse to facilitate mass deportations of people the government believes to be undesirable.”

Is it better to protest, or come to the table?

This is a big question for Twitter going forward: Will it do more good by refusing to cooperate with Trump, or by working with his administration? The answer to that question will only become clearer with time. But for now, this reporter appreciates that Twitter has stood up for the privacy of its users and explicitly refuses to allow a Trump administration access to its wide swath of data for surveillance purposes. Now that Facebook has also been compelled to speak, I hope Google will follow suit, and fully of its own accord.

Conversely, this righteous move may also help Twitter bounce back from some of its missteps as Facebook has soared forward. Even if it can’t work with the Trump Administration, this bold PR strategy may still help the company’s bottom line.

So there’s that, too.

Paul Mutter contributed reporting

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The article If you’re looking for a tech company to stand up to Trump, it’s Twitter was first published on Geektime.

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