Twitter War Unleashed

The social media giant finds itself in a soup over tweets by celebs supporting the farmers’ protests. With the centre asking it to block 1,178 accounts and Twitter not complying, a legal battle looms ahead

- Na Vijayashankar

HERE is a virtual war being unleashed over Twitter. On February 4, the government sent it a list of 1,178 accounts that it wants removed or blocked. The centre alleged that these accounts were being run from Pakistan and were tweeting about the farmers’ protests. It said that if the executives of Twitter failed to do this, they could face imprisonment up to seven years.

Soon after, a Washington Post editorial described the Indian government as a “dictatorial” regime like Myanmar. This was followed by pop star Rihanna and green activist Greta Thunberg tweeting support for the farmers’ agitation. All this took Twitter propaganda to the level of an “Information War”.

Twitter refused to abide by the notice of the government under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act 2000 (ITA 2000). Earlier on January 31, the government had sent it a list of 257 tweets and accounts that it wanted blocked in India. Twitter initially complied, but later reinstated the accounts, stating that according to Twitter rules, the posts were protected under freedom of expression.

At the same time, Twitter decided to suspend the tweets of actress Kangana Ranaut as they were not in accordance with its standards. Twitter is now challenging the government and indicated that it has a legal right to overrule Indian law. This is similar to the behaviour of the East India Company which framed the rules of voluntary surrender of Indian rulers by imposing on them a condition that if they do not have a legal heir, they should accede the kingdom to it.

The ball is now in the court of the government. Will it respond meekly and surrender to Twitter or assert its right to establish its authority? And what is the legal status of Twitter in the context of the current controversy?