Twitter bows to pressure in India and blocks accounts
After initially refusing the Indian government’s requests to take down accounts critical of its handling of farmer protests, Twitter relented on Wednesday and removed over 500 accounts.
Twitter said it acted after the government issued a notice of noncompliance, a move that put its local employees under threat of prison. A virtual meeting between Twitter executives and government officials was underway on Wednesday evening.
In a blog post, Twitter said it was not taking any action on the accounts that belonged to media organizations, journalists, activists or politicians, saying it did not believe the orders to block them “are consistent with Indian law.”
Bigger picture: The conflict is an example of the challenges for social media companies like Twitter that advocate free speech but face demands in many countries to tame their influence in politics. The Indian government, controlled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party, has become increasingly aggressive at stifling dissent, and the judiciary has agreed with it.
The New York Times
