India Threatens Twitter With Penalties If It Doesn’t Block Accounts

[wisepowder]

India Threatens Twitter With Penalties If It Doesn’t Block Accounts

NEW DELHI—India threatened to punish Twitter if it doesn’t comply with a government request to restore a block on accounts connected to tweets about farmers’ protests that the government says are inflammatory.To get more latest news about twitter, you can visit shine news official website.

On Monday Twitter blocked more than 250 accounts from being seen within India following a government request after Indian officials said the tweets could incite violence. The officials singled out the hashtag #ModiPlanningFarmersGenocide, which some Twitter users have been using to bring attention to the government’s crackdown on protesters.

The demonstrations have been going on for more than two months as farmers protest new laws as the first step in removing the government support they rely upon. New Delhi says the laws will help farmers and consumers by modernizing and streamlining the agricultural supply chain.The blocking of the accounts on Monday, which included some respected news organizations and political activists, triggered an outcry on Twitter.

Twitter reversed the ban within 12 hours, saying the tweets in question should be allowed as part of free speech. The company said protecting public conversation and transparency was fundamental to its work.When it explained the thinking behind the original ban on Monday, Twitter said it had received a formal request from an authorized entity in India, adding that it was sometimes necessary to withhold access to certain content in some countries.

After Twitter’s reversal, India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology demanded the company comply with its request because subjects like genocide cannot be protected and pose a threat to law and order, said a government official.“Twitter seems to be following a dual standard in India,” said the official, who was involved with India’s request to block the accounts. “Will it promote a genocide hashtag in Europe or the U.S.?”

In a notice to Twitter on Tuesday, the Ministry said the company has no constitutional, statutory or legal basis to comment upon the interplay of statutory provisions as per its own limited private understanding of laws in India.Twitter declined to comment on the latest development in India Wednesday.

If the company doesn’t comply, New Delhi has threatened to take action under its information technology laws, which could include a fine and up to seven years of jail time for the Twitter executives in charge of implementing government directives.New Delhi and others who have taken the government’s side in the showdown with farmers have been trying to use internet restrictions and outrage about tweets to push back on the protests.