Perhaps, concerned over the possibility of arrest of its employees under Section 69A (3) of the IT Act for non-compliance of the government’s order (that carries a jail term of up to seven years), the micro-blogging giant said it has initiated the talks to look into the concerns raised by the IT ministry. “Safety of our employees is a top priority. We continue to be engaged with the government from a position of respect and have reached out to the minister for a formal dialogue,” a spokesperson for Twitter told TOI.
The spokesperson said an acknowledgement to the receipt of the non-compliance notice has also been formally communicated to the government, just as it has started a review of the IT ministry’s orders (on blocking of the handles).
“We review every report we receive from the government as expeditiously as possible, and take appropriate action regarding such reports while making sure we hold firm to our fundamental values,” the firm said.
The company has also shared an update with the government. “We strongly believe that the open and free exchange of information has a positive global impact, and that the tweets must continue to flow,” the spokesperson said.
The company has been cornered on the issue of tweets related to the farmers agitation against the proposed changes to the agricultural laws, as the government has instructed it to block around 257 accounts that sent out posts on the platform with the hashtag #ModiPlanningFarmerGenocide.
While the company had first ‘withheld’ (blocked) the accounts after the IT ministry’s request, it soon unblocked them (termed ‘unwithheld’ by the company) in the name of “free speech” and because it found the content “newsworthy”.
This had infuriated the IT ministry that not only threatened action against Twitter and its India officials, but also sent out a fresh list of 1,178 handles that it sought to be blocked, purportedly for being backed by Khalistan sympathisers, or by Pakistan and operating from foreign territories.
Twitter has said that when it gets a request for blocking a particular handle, it reviews it under both “the Twitter Rules and the local law”. “If the content violates Twitter’s rules, the content will be removed. 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 the location only. Our goal is to respect local law while protecting our principles of free expression,” the firm said.
The IT ministry has warned the firm to comply with its instructions as they have been given keeping the public order in mind and in order to diffuse tensions and hatred.