Social media giant Twitter on Tuesday reached out to the Indian government in view of the request to remove over 1000 accounts over the charges of spreading hate propaganda in the nation against the ongoing farmers' protest. Twitter officials has contacted the government of India to hold a formal dialogue. It also iterated that the security of its employees is the topmost priority for the company.
"Safety of our employees is a top priority for us at Twitter. We continue to be engaged with the Government of India from a position of respect and have reached out to the Honourable Minister, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology for a formal dialogue," a Twitter spokesperson said.
The development comes after the government ordered Twitter to take down 1,178 accounts for allegedly spreading misinformation around farmers' protests.
“We continue to be engaged with the Government of India from a position of respect and have reached out to the Honourable Minister, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, for a formal dialogue, the official added
The government, on February 4, had ordered Twitter to block 1,178 accounts with links to Pakistan and Khalistan supporters that were spreading misinformation and provocative content on farmers' protest.
Previously, too, the government had ordered Twitter to take down handles and hashtags that suggested a farmer genocide was being planned, saying such misinformation and inflammatory content will incite passion, and impact public order.
It has also warned Twitter of penal action in case of failure to comply with its directive and had cited sections that provide for fine and jail for up to 7 years.
Notably, Twitter's Public Policy Director for India and South Asia Mahima Kaul has quit, fuelling speculations about her departure amid the ongoing situation.
However, the company has clarified that this was not the case.
"At the start of this year, Mahima Kaul decided to step down from her role as Twitter Public Policy Director for India and South Asia to take a well-deserved break. It's a loss for all of us at Twitter, but after more than five years in the role we respect her desire to focus on the most important people and relationships in her personal life,” Twitter Vice President Public Policy Monique Meche said.
Meche added that Kaul will continue in her role till the end of March and will support the transition.
In an emailed response, a Twitter spokesperson said the company reviews every report it receives from the government as expeditiously as possible.
It will “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 spokesperson said.
The spokesperson emphasised that the company strongly believes that the open and free exchange of information has a positive global impact, and that the tweets must continue to flow.
According to Twitter, when an account is “withheld” it means the social media platform “was compelled to withhold the entire account specified (e.g, @username) in response to a valid legal demand, such as a court order”.
