According to the report by Times of India, top Twitter executives in India may face arrest over the platform’s ‘non-compliance’ in following a government order.
According to the report by Times of India, top Twitter executives in India may face arrest after the Indian government made it clear that its order to block the list of accounts, allegedly spreading “inflammatory content” and using ‘farmers genocide’ hashtag, was “non-negotiable”. The centre also warned that its patience was wearing out over the refusal of the microblogging website to follow the order given under Section 69A of the IT Act.
The social media giant, which followed the government order partially by taking down half of the accounts sought to be blocked by the centre, is likely to approach the courts as it holds ground in the defence of “right of free expression on behalf of the people we serve”.
Union IT secretary Ajay Prakash Sawhney, during a meeting with Twitter executives Monique Meche and Jim Baker on Wednesday, made it clear that the use of the controversial hashtag was neither journalistic freedom nor freedom of expression as such “irresponsible content could provoke and inflame” the situation. Mr Sawhney also reportedly expressed his displeasure over differential treatment by Twitter in its handling of the problems on Capitol Hill and Red Fort.
Earlier on Wednesday, in response to governments order, Twitter had said that the orders were inconsistent with Indian law and that for some accounts, it would restrict access within India instead of an outright ban. In a blog that explained the steps taken by the social media giant Twitter noted that the values that underpin the Open Internet and free expression “are increasingly under threat around the world”. Government sources, in an escalating confrontation, say Twitter has to comply with the law of the land and warn of action.
Twitter, in its blog post, said: “We have withheld a portion of the accounts identified in the blocking orders under our Country Withheld Content policy within India only. These accounts continue to be available outside of India.”
“Because we do not believe that the actions we have been directed to take are consistent with Indian law, and, in keeping with our principles of defending protected speech and freedom of expression, we have not taken any action on accounts that consist of news media entities, journalists, activists, and politicians. To do so, we believe, would violate their fundamental right to free expression under Indian law,” it said.
Twitter also underlined that it existed to empower voices to be heard and continued to make improvements to its service so that everyone – no matter their views or perspective – felt safe participating in the public conversation.
“We will continue to advocate for the right of free expression on behalf of the people we serve and are actively exploring options under Indian law – both for Twitter and for the accounts that have been impacted. We remain committed to safeguarding the health of the conversation occurring on Twitter, and strongly believe that the Tweets should flow,” Twitter asserted.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
