On Saturday, a Twitter official confirmed that the social media platform had blocked around 50 tweets following an order from the Indian government. While these tweets have been blocked in India, they continue to be available in other countries.
According to Lumen, a database run by Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Centre, which aims to enhance transparency by tracking removal requests of social media posts, several of the blocked tweets were critical of the Indian government’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis. Some of the posts called for the resignation of Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, while others referred to the ongoing deadly wave as a “Modi Made Disaster”. Several users also denounced the Kumbh Mela, a religious gathering that saw the participation of thousands and caused a sharp surge in cases in neighbouring regions. A few posts also appeared to be propagating misinformation and disinformation. The affected accounts include those of political leaders, including Congress Member of Parliament Revanth Reddy and West Bengal Minister Moloy Ghatak.
Saturday’s request was made in pursuance of the Information Technology Act, 2000. According to Twitter, it was obligated to take down content following a “valid legal request”. A spokesperson of the platform said, “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.” Further, he added, “We are tackling COVID-19 misinformation using a combination of product, technology, and human review - these critical efforts will continue to be a priority. In order for content related to COVID-19 to be labelled or removed under this policy, it must: Advance a claim of fact, expressed in definitive terms; Demonstrably false or misleading, based on widely available, authoritative sources; Likely to impact public safety or cause serious harm.”
This sparked an outrage from several users on Twitter, with some accusing the Indian government of “finding it easier to take down tweets than ensure oxygen supplies”. Others have accused the government of resorting to “censorship” amid an ongoing “humanitarian disaster”. Several users have also condemned Twitter for complying with the order and accused it of being “complicit” in the Indian government’s attack on dissent.
New mask launched by the System. pic.twitter.com/d86t14kwsQ
— Kajol Srinivasan (@LOLrakshak) April 25, 2021
However, the Indian government alleges that the affected tweets are those that were “circulating fake news, old photos, etc.” Moreover, an official from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said that while the Indian government “welcomed criticism”, it was “necessary” to act against users that were “misusing social media during this grave humanitarian crisis for unethical purposes”.
The move comes as several Indian citizens have been forced to use social media platforms to acquire critical medical equipment and connect with plasma donors, with many users eventually securing access to oxygen, medications, and even beds with the help of the community on various platforms. On Sunday, India reported over 350,000 new cases of COVID-19, with 2,812 deaths, reaching a new daily high. This was the third day in a row that India reported over 300,000 cases in a single day. With this, India’s tally has reached a whopping 17,300,000 cases with 195,000 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
This is also not the first time that Twitter has been asked to take down content that was critical of the Modi government. In February, Twitter withheld several accounts in India in response to a “legal request” by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and restored them later the same day. The list of accounts included the Kisan Ekta Morcha, which is the IT cell of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, and the Caravan Magazine, both of whom were involved in spreading information about the ongoing farmers’ protests. Apart from withholding accounts, several tweets were also blocked by the social media giant. According to ANI, all the accounts were suspended under Section 69A of the IT Act, as they were using hashtags that were “fake, intimidatory, and provocative.” The hashtag being referred to was: “#ModiPlanningFarmerGenocide”.
Following this, the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology passed the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, which awarded larger powers to social media companies to take down content that violated Indian laws. Hence, the current order is in pursuance of this recently implemented law, which calls for enhanced cooperation between the tech giants and the Indian government.