Parts of Twitter source code leaked online

The data posted on GitHub was removed following the social media platform's request

The code forms the basis for the web service’s various functions and internal tools. AP

Parts of Twitter’s proprietary source code were published online until last week, the company revealed in a California court filing on Friday.

The code, which forms the basis for the web service’s various functions and internal tools, was posted on GitHub, the widely used code repository now owned by Microsoft.

GitHub complied with Twitter’s request to remove the data under a copyright infringement claim and posted Twitter’s request online.

The account responsible for the posting - FreeSpeechEnthusiast - signed up on GitHub at the start of the year and appears to have only uploaded the Twitter cache.

Twitter now seeks the identity of the user behind that account as well as the names and other information of all users who posted, downloaded or uploaded the data.

The Elon Musk-owned social networking platform is asking GitHub for the names, addresses, telephone numbers, emails, social media profiles and IP addresses of those parties, according to its filing.

The company has also launched an internal investigation into the leak, according to a New York Times report citing unidentified sources.

GitHub does not generally comment on decisions to remove content and pointed to its publication of Twitter’s takedown request when reached for comment.

Twitter’s email address for press enquiries continues to auto-respond with a poop emoji.

Exposing Twitter’s internal workings may make the service more vulnerable to hacking attempts.

The username chosen by the leaker appears designed to poke fun at Mr Musk, who made a big deal out of restoring free speech to the platform when he took over the company late last year.