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Twitter Says U.S. Withdraws Summons Over Anti-Trump Account Info

The federal government has withdrawn a request for Twitter to identify who is behind an account critical of President Donald Trump's immigration policies.
Image: A man holds a cellphone in front of a twitter logo
A man holds a cellphone in front of a twitter logo on March 16, 2017.Gokhan Balci / Anadolu Agency - Getty Images, file

Twitter on Friday pulled a lawsuit filed against the U.S. government, saying that a summons by the government for user account information had been withdrawn, according to new court papers.

The move came a day after the social media company filed a federal lawsuit to block an order by the U.S. government demanding it reveal who is behind an account opposed to President Donald Trump's tough immigration policies.

IMAGE: Federal demand to Twitter
A section of a summons sent to Twitter demanding user names, login records, phone numbers, physical addresses and IP addresses of anyone associated with the account @ALT_uscis.

The Twitter account in question was claimed to be the work of at least one federal immigration employee, according to the lawsuit filed in San Francisco federal court.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which told NBC News it was representing the person behind the @ALT_uscis account, called the development a "big victory for free speech and right to dissent."

Twitter declined to comment.