Breaking: Twitter Complies with Indian Government Orders, Blocks 8,000+ Accounts
Government intensifies clampdown on web data: Restrictions imposed on several digital platforms
Here's a quick rundown of the latest happenings! Twitter's Global Government Affairs account announced on May 8th that it was complying with Indian government directives to block over 8,000 accounts in the country. The move comes after a series of contentious posts regarding the ongoing conflict with Pakistan.
On Friday morning, Twitter's account went down briefly, leading many to speculate about the reason. Insider sources mentioned that the block was a self-inflicted error by Twitter itself.
Twitter's announcement also highlighted that the company disagreed with many of the takedown requests, particularly those targeting international news organizations and prominent voices on the platform.
This waves of blocks coincide with Operation Sindoor, an Indian military offensive against Pakistan that was launched early on May 7th in retaliation to continued harboring of terrorists by Islamabad. As the tension mounted, the government has stepped up its efforts to control the flow of online information.
Among the blocked accounts were independent media outlets like Maktoob Media, The Kashmiriyat, and Free Press Kashmir, as well as prominent journalists like Anuradha Bhasin, editor of Kashmir Times, and Muzamil Jaleel, journalist from The Indian Express. These accounts were not visible within India, displaying a message stating that they had been withheld in India in response to a legal demand.
Digital news platform The Wire reported that its website was blocked across India on May 9th, allegedly by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB).
The Wire issued a statement, expressing their protest against this obvious censorship at a critical time for India when rational and truthful voices are paramount. The MIB has yet to respond to requests for a comment.
The government's media policy has drawn criticism from political circles. Communist Party of India general secretary D Raja wrote a letter to information and broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw about why platforms like The Wire were being blocked while channels promoting inflammatory and misleading content remained operational.
Former information and broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur defended wartime censorship as necessary for public safety. He stated that misinformation can lead to several issues, including mass panic and societal division. The MIB and Information Technology (IT) ministry need to issue strict directions to maintain public safety during such times.
Twitter is currently embroiled in a legal battle with the Indian government over the legitimacy of content-blocking directives under the Information Technology Act. The case is scheduled to be heard next in July 2025. Stay tuned for more updates!
(Enrichment Information: The current legal battle between Twitter and the Indian government revolves around the Indian government's executive orders which demand the blocking of over 8,000 accounts in India due to alleged legal violations. Twitter is complying with these orders but has publicly expressed disagreement with the scope and justification of these orders, citing concerns over free speech. The Indian government threatens penalties for non-compliance, including fines and imprisonment. Twitter is seeking legal remedies but is limited by Indian law, urging affected users to pursue court action. The exact date for the next court hearing in this matter is currently not publicly available based on the given information.)
- The Indian government's directives have led Twitter to block over 8,000 accounts within the country, as announced by the Global Government Affairs account on May 8th.
- The Government of India has stepped up its efforts to control the flow of online information, coinciding with the military offensive, Operation Sindoor, which was launched on May 7th.
- Among the blocked accounts were independent media outlets like Maktoob Media, The Kashmiriyat, and Free Press Kashmir, as well as prominent journalists.
- The recently blocked accounts display a message stating that they have been withheld in India in response to a legal demand.
- Digital news platform The Wire reported that its website was blocked across India on May 9th, allegedly by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB).
- The government's media policy has drawn criticism from political circles, with the Communist Party of India raising concerns about the blocking of platforms like The Wire.
- Twitter is currently embroiled in a legal battle with the Indian government over the legitimacy of content-blocking directives under the Information Technology Act, with the next court hearing scheduled in July 2025.
