The Indian government has ordered the removal of alleged ‘inflammatory content’ related to covid-19 on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
A Twitter spokesperson has clarified that the company takes such action on legitimate legal requests.
It has been said in the news that these include some posts made from Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee’s official Facebook page.
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On the condition of anonymity, a top government official has been quoted as saying that posts related to covid which contain provocative pictures and messages of cremation, which may incite people, which may lead to attacks on medical personnel, has been removed.
Those whose social media accounts have been affected by this government order include Congress MP R Reddy, Malay constituent of TMC, a Minister of State for West Bengal, two filmmakers Vinod Kapri and Avinash Das.
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Under Section 69 (A) of the Information and Technology Act, the concerned Ministry issued an order to this effect on Friday and was fully implemented on Saturday.
Twitter spokesperson clarified that the company complies on the receipt of a valid legal request and disclosures of the blocking are made on Lumen.
“When we receive a valid legal request, we review it under both the Twitter Rules and local law. If the content violates Twitter rules the content will be removed from the service.
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If it is determined to be illegal in a particular jurisdiction, but not in violation of the Twitter rules, we may withhold access to the content in India only,” the spokesperson said
Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien has strongly criticized the government for this order.
Describing Modi-Shah as a hangman, Derek O’Brien says that the losers do not tolerate criticism. Why are they angry about blocking Twitter account, they stopped oxygen of gasping citizens.”
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