The government of India, in a fresh order, had asked Twitter to take down 1,178 accounts for allegedly spreading misinformation and provocative content.
After being asked by the government of India in a fresh order to take down 1,178 accounts for allegedly spreading misinformation and provocative content, microblogging website Twitter on Monday said it is engaging with the Centre from a position of respect.
In a statement, the company also said that “safety of our employees is a top priority for us at Twitter”. The development comes shortly after Twitter India’s public policy director Mahima Kaul resigned.
The company has asked for a meeting with Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, a spokesperson at Twitter said. “We have reached out to the honourable minister for formal dialogue. An acknowledgement to the receipt of the non-compliance notice has also been formally communicated,” the spokesperson added.
“We review every report we receive from the government as expeditiously as possible, and take appropriate action regarding such reports while making sure we hold firm to our fundamental values and commitment to protecting the public conversation. An update is shared through our established channels of communication with the government,” the statement by Twitter further read.
“We strongly believe that the open and free exchange of information has a positive global impact, and that the tweets must continue to flow,” it added.
As per official sources, the government had said that the 1,178 listed handles have Pakistani and Khalistani users.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, earlier on January 31, had sent a list of 257 handles and tweets to be blocked for similar reasons. These accounts were blocked by the micro-blogging websites for a few hours before unilaterally unblocking them shortly after.
The ministry, on February 4, shared the fresh list flagged by security agencies as accounts of Khalistan sympathisers or backed by Pakistan and operating from foreign territories, threatening public order amid the farmers’ protest.
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