Twitter has been accused of defying Indian authorities and failing to comply with the country's new social media laws and could lose some legal protections, the accusation was made by Minister of Communications and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday.
calls from Intermediate Guidelines, the new laws regulating social networks in the country require companies to respond quickly to legal requests to remove content. The text also requires social networks to provide data on the origin of content of interest to the Indian government. Facebook, WhatsApp and other networks must also comply with these guidelines, which came into effect on May 26.
Authoritarian action
On his Twitter account, Ravi pointed out some of the alleged behaviors of the American company that led the Indian government to adopt the punishment. Previously, the company had already been warned that it could suffer consequences if it did not collaborate with the Indian government. And this was not even the first authoritarian threat; in March of this year, authorities in the country considered arrest employees of Twitter, Facebook and Whatsapp.
There are numerous queries arising as to whether Twitter is entitled to safe harbor provision. However, the simple fact of the matter is that Twitter has failed to comply with the Intermediary Guidelines that came into effect from the 26th of May.
— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) June 16, 2021
The Minister of Communication and Information Technology did not detail on the social network what punishment would be applied to Twitter, but informants pointed out to the news agency Reuters that the company could no longer qualify for tax exemption and could no longer host content created in India.
History of the conflict with the Indian government
The conflict between Twitter and the Indian government is not new. After the rise of the far-right government, the country has been experiencing some social conflicts and controversial changes to its laws. One of the highest points, which continues to this day, was the farmers' strike that led to demonstrations and was the trigger for the government's "witch hunt" against Twitter.
Earlier this year, the Indian government ordered the social network to block the accounts of politicians, celebrities and supporters. left-wing who fought for small farmers, as well as a hashtag used by protesters. However, Twitter refused to block some content on the grounds of freedom of information and was threatened therefore. However, the social network ended up giving in regarding the content, but refused to block journalism professionals, claiming that they are important for informing the population.
Nothing decided yet
According to Reuters, Twitter was approached for comment on the minister's statements, who even claimed that the social network's actions were deliberately defiant of the new laws. Twitter did not respond to the matter, but said on Monday that it was keeping the Indian government informed about its actions.
1/ Fact check: We would like to caution against news reports of any social media entity (a significant entity) losing the “protective shield” of an “intermediary status”. This emerges from an incorrect reading of the law. #TwitterBanInIndia https://t.co/r3QNIHDx80
— Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) (@internetfreedom) June 16, 2021
Meanwhile, the Internet Freedom Foundation (a group of lawyers fighting for a free internet in India) also commented on the blue bird's social network that the information about the punishment is premeditated. According to the foundation, it is not up to the executive to decide whether Twitter has lost its tax privileges, but rather to the legislature and this has not yet been decided.
Image: Keith Binns/iStock