Twitter Defies Indian Government Order, Says It Won’t Block Accounts Of Flagged Journalists, Activists, Politicians

Topline

Twitter said Wednesday it will not restrict accounts belonging to Indian journalists, activists and politicians, in defiance of an order issued by the country’s government, setting up a potentially fraught legal battle with the Narendra Modi-led government which has threatened to jail the company’s executives if they fail to comply.

Key Facts

Crucial Quote

“Upon the request of Twitter seeking a meeting with the Govt., the Secretary IT was to engage with senior management of Twitter. In this light a blog post published prior to this engagement is unusual. Govt. will share its response soon.” The IT ministry responded in a statement on local micro-blogging platform Koo.

Key Background

Twitter has emerged at the center of a firestorm in India as the social media platform has been used by the celebrities, activists, independent journalists and opposition politicians to criticize the government on both the new farm laws and its heavy handed use of police and paramilitary forces to subdue protests against it. The platform has come under criticism from liberal voices and those who oppose the government, for its failure to tackle hateful content and threats of violence against the protestors and those who support them. The government has attempted to crack down on several Twitter accounts and hashtags as it alleged they pose a threat to public order and spread misinformation about the new laws.

Tangent

Twitter was the home turf of another controversy relating to the farmer protests earlier this month after singer Rihanna shared a news report about the protests, asking: “Why aren’t we talking about this?! #FarmersProtest.” The protesting farmers also received support from Meena Harris—author and niece of the U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris—climate activist Greta Thunberg and several other celebrities. This prompted an immediate reaction from the Indian foreign ministry which slammed the “celebrities and others” for their comments on the farmers protests, calling them “neither accurate nor responsible.”

Further Reading

Twitter Says It Won’t Block Journalists, Activists, And Politicians In India To Protect Free Speech (BuzzFeed)

Twitter Says It Won’t Block Journalists, Activists, And Politicians In India To Protect Free Speech (TechCrunch)