Twitter reinstates Politiwoops, account that tracked politicians' gaffes

Twitter has reinstated Politiwoops' access to the site.

Politiwoops, which tracked tweets published and subsequently deleted by politicians, aimed to help keep government honest. But Twitter said that it was an invasion of politicans' privacy and cut its access to the Twitter API last year.

Such access enabled more reliable tracking of often fast-deleted but revealing statements uttered off-hand by politicans and their staff.

“Politwoops is an important tool for holding our public officials, including candidates and elected or appointed public officials, accountable for the statements they make, and we’re glad that we’ve been able to reach an agreement with Twitter to bring it back online both in the US and internationally.” said Jenn Topper, communications director for The Sunlight Foundation, in a press release issued by Twitter.

The restoration was expected after a shake-up at Twitter last fall, in which co-founder Jack Dorsey took the helm from longtime CEO Dick Costolo.

Previously.