The US has defended its request for the personal details of three Twitter users, as part of its inquiry into Wikileaks.
At a court in Virginia, the justice department said it was seeking the account information of three associates of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
The trio are fighting the request, arguing it is an invasion of privacy.
A justice department lawyer told the court the request was a standard investigative measure.
US prosecutors say the request forms part of their ongoing investigation into the Wikileaks site, which released thousands of confidential diplomatic cables online.
The trio appealing against the request - Icelandic MP Birgitta Jonsdottir, Dutch hacker Rop Gonggrijp and US computer programmer Jacob Appelbaum - all know, or have worked with, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
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They'll be wetting themselves now. Their looking at 30 years a piece.
