New Delhi warned Twitter to reimpose bans on accounts on its platform that were using a hashtag connected to the farmers' protest or face penalties under Indian law. The social media company complied with the order initially and suspended accounts including publications like The Caravan as well as those of politicians from other parties. 

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The order was made under Section 69A of the IT Act that allows the government to order companies like Twitter to block accounts “in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India.” The order targeted over 200 accounts that were using the hashtag #modiplanningfarmersgenocide. The farmers' protest garnered attention from celebrities from all over the world as farmers are protesting the new law which aims to promote greater private-sector competition. 

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However, soon after the ban on more than 200 accounts, Twitter was met with uproar from free speech advocates and reinstated the accounts 12 hours later. Critics viewed the measure to silence and attack critics of the new law as a measure to protect public safety. The government has now issued a fresh warning to the social media giant according to a spokesperson at the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology.

“The restoration [of those accounts] is in violation of the judicial process, and Twitter is not following the law of the land,” a spokesperson said to the Financial Times. 

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A copy of the order was accessed by Techcrunch and it said, “Twitter cannot assume the role of a court and justify non-compliance. Twitter being an intermediary is obliged to obey the directions as per satisfaction of authorities as to which inflammatory content will arouse passion and impact public order. Twitter cannot sit as an appellate authority over the satisfaction of the authorities about its potential impact on derailing public order.”

There’s a good chance that Twitter may get banned in India if the company fails to comply with the Indian government’s order. The government expressed concern over “derogatory and factually incorrect tweets and hashtags" that have been circulating in the country this week. The order also said that these tweets and hashtags were "designed to spread hate.”

Source: Financial Times, Techcrunch

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