NEW DELHI: Top Twitter executives in India may face arrest with the Centre making it clear that its list of accounts sought to be censured over “inflammatory content”, especially those with the hashtag of farmers’ genocide, was “non-negotiable”, and warning its patience was wearing out over the refusal of the company to follow the diktat given under Section 69A of the IT Act.
The US micro-blogging giant, which partially followed the order by taking down around half of the accounts sought to be blocked by the government, may now approach the courts as it holds ground in the defence of “right of free expression on behalf of the people we serve”.
During a meeting with Twitter executives Monique Meche and Jim Baker on Wednesday, Union IT secretary Ajay Prakash Sawhney made it clear the use of the controversial hashtag was neither journalistic freedom nor freedom of expression as such “irresponsible content could provoke and inflame” the situation. He also expressed his displeasure over differential treatment by Twitter in its handling of the problems on Capitol Hill and Red Fort.
“Twitter has to follow the orders. It is not a subject matter of negotiation. It’s the law of the land and if someone has a problem with any action we have undertaken… You are free to take legal recourse,” said a government source.
The Centre feels that compliance from Twitter should be immediate. “If they do it hesitatingly or grudgingly, or after 10-12 days of our orders, it’s not really a case of compliance.”
Earlier in the day, Twitter said, “… in keeping with our principles of defending protected speech and freedom of expression, we have not taken any action on accounts that consist of news media entities, journalists, activists, and politicians. To do so, we believe, would violate their fundamental right to free expression under Indian law.” Twitter’s plea for a meeting with communications and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad was turned down and the government did not take kindly to Twitter going public.
“Upon the request of Twitter seeking a meeting with the government, Secretary Sawhney was to engage with senior management of Twitter. In this light a blog post published prior to this engagement is unusual,” the IT ministry said on Koo, a newly launched Indian social media app.
The meeting, which was initially postponed, finally took place late in the evening with the government maintaining that the company needed to act, “and immediately”, as the censured accounts had violated the law of the land, including the 257 handles that tweeted with the hashtag #ModiPlanningFarmerGenocide.
Twitter is said to have blocked only 126 of these accounts. Some of the accounts mentioned by the government here included Caravan magazine (@thecaravanindia), Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Mohammad Salim (@salimdotcomrade), activist Hansraj Meena (@HansrajMeena), Kisan Ekta Morcha (@Kisanektamorcha), and BKU Ekta Urgahan (@Bkuektaugrahan).
On the other hand, of the 1,178 handles that the government suspected to have links with Khalistani and Pakistani elements to spread misinformation and provocative content, a total of 583 have been de-activated.
But the government is not satisfied with the action and a senior official said that the option of arresting some of the company executives for not complying with the legal provisions was being considered.
Top sources in the IT Ministry accused Twitter of “making commercial and business benefit by allowing the handles of those who were spreading poisonous speech” in the name of freedom of expression.
The government told the company that any entity that operates in India “must be respectful of the democratic nature” of our policy. “We are a democracy and follow constitutional provisions and laws that have been brought in place after a thorough debate in the Parliament. We can’t have the self-created provisions of a private company take precedence over the laws of our land. We ask you to be respectful of the sensitivities of our country and not to infringe upon the legal provisions that govern life in India.”
Twitter, however, has been holding its ground thus far though adding that it will continue the negotiations with the government. “We will continue to maintain dialogue with the Indian government and respectfully engage with them. We will continue to advocate for the right of free expression on behalf of the people we serve. We are exploring options under Indian law — both for Twitter and for the accounts that have been impacted. We remain committed to safeguarding the health of the conversation occurring on Twitter, and strongly believe that the Tweets should flow.”
The company said that it has already taken a range of enforcement actions — including permanent suspension in certain cases — against more than 500 accounts escalated by the IT Ministry. “Separately, today, we have withheld a portion of the accounts identified in the blocking orders under our Country Withheld Content policy within India only. These accounts continue to be available outside of India.”
The company further said that beginning January 26 (the day when farmers indulged in violence in the national capital), its global team provided 24/7 coverage and took enforcement action judiciously and impartially on content, trends, tweets, and accounts that were in violation of the ‘Twitter Rules’. “We took action on hundreds of accounts that violated the Twitter Rules, particularly inciting violence, abuse, wishes of harm, and threats that could trigger the risk of offline harm.”