Twitter troll hunted by Newsweek reporter after epileptic seizure
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A United States reporter suffering from epilepsy is seeking the identity of a Twitter troll who sent him a message containing an image which triggered a seizure.
The image in question included a strobe effect with the words "you deserve a seizure for your posts" and was apparently sent in response to Newsweek reporter Kurt Eichenwald's outspoken criticism of President-elect Donald Trump.
Eichenwald posted a signed copy of a Dallas County District Court order to Twitter on Tuesday which orders Twitter to preserve any information or documents regarding the person who sent the image.
The Newsweek reporter wrote Twitter had agreed to an expedited order and would not challenge the request for information.
Eichenwald is seeking the information for a potential lawsuit, which is likely to be against the person who sent the tweet since court document say he does not plan to sue Twitter.
A Twitter representative said the company did not comment on individual accounts or investigations, but guidelines on its website include a requirement for a court order or subpoena before it releases user information.
The deposition request, filed Monday, said Twitter suspended the account of @jew_goldstein "upon learning of the assault" and the sender had identified him or herself with the alias Ari Goldstein.
The sender "succeeded in his effort to use Twitter as a means of committing assault, causing Petitioner to have a seizure which led to personal injury," Eichenwald's attorneys wrote.
Neither Eichenwald nor his attorney returned messages seeking comment.
Eichenwald told Good Morning America he had received numerous copycat strobe messages from "people who identify themselves as Trump supporters" and that he was reporting each of them to Twitter to ask the accounts be suspended.
"It is amazing to me that simply because I am a political reporter, simply because I write about Donald Trump that we have become so sick and twisted in this country that people think they have the right and obligation to inflict potentially very serious injury," he said.
Mark Bennett, a Houston criminal defence and free speech attorney, said he believed a lawsuit alleging physical harm from a tweet would be "novel".
"I don't know of a case where someone has been sued or prosecuted for speech online causing physical harm," he said.
"It's a tough sell because there's a lot of distance between the speech and the injury."
However, Houston attorney Joe Larsen, who is a board member of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, said Eichenwald did not appear to be challenging the speech.
"I don't think it's fair to say (Eichenwald) is saying he was harmed by the form of speech. I don't think he's suing about that. I think the ultimate suit will be one for assault," he said.
AP
Topics: internet-technology, social-media, epilepsy, us-elections, world-politics, journalism, united-states
