Twitter Refuses to Block Accounts, Says Govt Order Not Consistent with Indian Law

The government order asking Twitter to block 1,178 user accounts with alleged links to Pakistan and Khalistan supporters and spreading misinformation and provocative content on farmers' protest, is not consistent with Indian law, said Twitter Inc on February 9, according to a report by Reuters.

Expressing concern over the government order, Twitter also said that the order would restrict access within India, instead of an outright ban for some accounts.

The IT Ministry, on February 4, had shared a list of these Twitter accounts that were flagged by security agencies as accounts of Khalistan sympathisers or backed by Pakistan and operating from foreign territories, and causing threat to public order amid the ongoing farmers’ stir. While Twitter did take action on nearly 500 out of the more than 1,100 accounts, including suspension, they are not going to comply fully with the government and the accounts will continue to be available outside of India, the micro-blogging site said in a blog post on Tuesday, which was also conveyed to the Centre on February 10.

In the post, Twitter also noted that “the values that underpin the Open Internet and free expression are increasingly under threat around the world”. Meanwhile, the government sources have reportedly warned of action if the company refuses to comply with the order in what seems to be an escalating confrontation, according to NDTV.

Twitter has also expressed concern about the safety of its employees in India following its refusal to comply with the orders. In another statement, they  had said they had reached out to the Indian government for a “formal dialogue”.

Also read: Govt Asks Twitter to Block 1,178 Accounts, Microblogging Site Yet to Comply

The government order had also threatened the company’s employees in India with fines if they continued to not comply with the Centre’s demands. “These Twitter handles are causing threat to public order in view of the ongoing farmers protests in some parts of India. Many of these accounts were also automated bots that were used for sharing and amplifying misinformation and provocative contents on farmers’ protests. But if Twitter still does not abide by the notice under section 69A of the IT Act, legal action would follow. As per law said section attracts seven year jail term,” NDTV quoted government sources as saying.

Earlier, the government had ordered Twitter to take down handles (257) and hashtags that suggested a farmer genocide was being planned with the hashtag “#ModiPlanningFarmerGenocide”, saying such misinformation and inflammatory content will incite passion, and impact public order. Twitter did comply with the order initially, including blocking the accounts the long-form current affairs magazine The Caravan, the political commentator Sanjukta Basu, the farmers’ union Kisan Ekta Morcha and the chief executive of the state-run broadcasting agency Prasar Bharati.

However, following a huge uproar over the stifling of voices against the government, the company unblocked the accounts in less than six hours.

Interestingly, following the row between the government and Twitter, several Union ministers could be seen joining the rival made-in-India app “Koo” and requested people to follow them, “ironically with posts on Twitter”, NDTV reported.