Twitter steps up war with India
US social media giant Twitter locked horns with India yesterday saying a government order to remove some accounts was not consistent with Indian law while politicians urged followers to switch to rival local app Koo.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has ordered Twitter to remove more than 1,100 accounts and posts which it says are spreading misinformation about widespread protests by farmers against new agricultural laws.
In a blog post yesterday, Twitter said it did not fully comply with some requests as it believed they were not in line with Indian law.
"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," it said.
The move puts the company and its executives at the centre of a political firestorm. The government has threatened legal action which could result in fines or imprisonment for Twitter officials responsible for implementing government directives.
It also comes after Twitter's top lobbyist in India, Mahima Kaul, resigned while the company scrambles to contain a growing public relations crisis.
Public opinion in one of Twitter's key markets is split. Some lawyers say Twitter must comply or challenge the order in court while activists blame the government for using legal provisions to curb free speech.
For Twitter, the stakes are high in a country of 1.3 billion where it has millions of users and is ardently used by Modi, his cabinet ministers and other leaders to communicate with the public. Twitter does not publish the number of Indian users.
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