Minister of State (MoS) for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, has expressed concerns over Twitter’s alleged violations of Indian laws and its reluctance to remove misinformation from the platform during former CEO Jack Dorsey’s tenure.
Chandrasekhar voiced his concerns while applauding the recent ruling by the Karnataka High Court (HC), which dismissed Twitter’s plea challenging the government’s orders to block tweets and accounts related to farmers’ protests from 2020 to 2021. Along with the dismissal, the court imposed a fine of INR 50 lakh on the social media site.
According to Business Standard, the MoS stated that under Dorsey’s leadership, Twitter displayed partisan behavior by hesitating to remove misinformation in India, despite taking action in similar situations in the US. The Minister raised questions about the platform’s commitment to addressing misinformation globally.
Chandrasekhar emphasized that the dismissal of Twitter’s plea by the High Court is evidence that Dorsey’s regime failed to acknowledge the sovereignty of Indian law. He further asserted that Twitter cannot operate as if Indian laws do not apply to them.
Twitter had approached the HC to contest 10 blocking orders issued by the central government, which demanded the removal of 39 URLs between February 2021 and February 2022. Twitter argued that some of the blocking orders exhibited procedural and substantial deficiencies and demonstrated an excessive use of power by the government.
Staying firm in his stance, Chandrasekhar stated that as a sovereign nation, India has the right to ensure that all companies operating within its jurisdiction comply with local laws, regardless of their size or origin. He also noted that it is the government’s responsibility to remove alleged fake news from the platform to prevent the escalation based on misinformation.
Section 69(A) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 empowers the Indian government to issue directions for blocking public access to information under specific circumstances. Recent amendments to the IT Rules have further empowered the government to crack down on alleged fake news and hold social media platforms accountable.
These developments come after Dorsey publicly claimed that the Indian government had threatened to shut down Twitter’s operations in the country for failing to comply with takedown notices. In response, the MoS referred to the claims as an “outright lie.”
India has emerged as one of the top four nations globally in sending the highest number of takedown orders to Twitter between January and June 2022, trailing behind Japan, South Korea, and Turkey.
