Information Security 5 min read

Why Did Twitter Issue a DMCA Takedown on Its Own Leaked Source Code?

Twitter filed a DMCA request to force GitHub to remove a repository exposing proprietary code, while also seeking a court order to identify the leaker, highlighting the security risks and legal complexities of source‑code leaks in the era of high‑profile tech acquisitions.

21CTO

Mar 28, 2023

Why Did Twitter Issue a DMCA Takedown on Its Own Leaked Source Code?

Twitter submitted a DMCA takedown request to GitHub demanding the immediate removal of a leaked repository ( https://github.com/FreeSpeechEnthusiast/PublicSpace ) and asked a court to compel GitHub to reveal the responsible party.

The leaked content, according to GitHub’s press release, includes proprietary Twitter platform and internal‑tool source code. DMCA, enacted in the United States in 1998, protects copyrighted data on the internet.

Media reports indicate the code may have been publicly accessible for months before removal; GitHub’s configuration logs show a single non‑public contribution made in early January by the account “FreeSpeechEnthusiast,” created on 3 January 2023.

Proprietary source code is among a company’s most confidential assets; its exposure can disclose software vulnerabilities and internal processes to attackers and competitors. Historically, source code has been a prime target for hackers, such as the “red‑code” attacks on Microsoft.

Beyond the takedown, Twitter filed a motion in a California court seeking the identities of GitHub users who may have downloaded the data, requesting names, addresses, phone numbers, emails, social‑media profiles, and IP addresses. GitHub’s spokesperson declined to comment on compliance.

Reports from the New York Times suggest internal speculation that a former employee might be involved, but the massive layoffs following Elon Musk’s acquisition and a pre‑layoff code freeze have narrowed the investigation.

While Musk announced plans to open‑source Twitter’s recommendation‑algorithm code on 31 March, officials warned that releasing the full proprietary code could expose security flaws, giving hackers or other motivated parties the opportunity to extract user data or disrupt the service.

Since Musk’s $44 billion acquisition, Twitter’s market value has more than halved, and the company has faced service outages and discussions of new small‑fee models to offset AI‑generated content challenges.