Following a notice from the central government that these tweets were not in line with India’s IT rule, Twitter has blocked many famous handles, including those of Member of Parliament Revanth Reddy, West Bengal Minister Moloy Ghatak, actor Vineet Kumar Singh, and filmmakers Vinod Kapri and Avinash Das.
The tweets allegedly focused on either government missteps or the suffering of people affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Covid cases have risen rapidly in India in recent weeks, and there is an acute shortage of hospital beds, medical oxygen, and drugs.
While Twitter has not officially stated the tweets it has banned or why the tweets have been blocked, it is known that it has sent a notification to the users who posted the tweets, stating that the tweets were in breach of Indian rules, as determined by the Indian government. The notification Twitter got referred to the Indian Information Technology Act of 2000 and requested that Twitter take action against the mentioned tweets.
The Indian government has also remained silent on the issue. However, after compliance with the government order, Twitter has documented its actions on Lumendatabase.org, a website used by internet firms to store government orders or DMCA takedowns.
The Indian government ordered Twitter to take action against tens of tweets on April 22 and 23, according to documents posted on Lumen.
The majority of the Tweets that have been removed are about the drug shortage that is affecting Covid patients. Some are connected to the Kumbh Mela, which took place in Haridwar at the same time as the pandemic resurfaced. If you browse the tweets from outside India, they are still open. For instance, this is one of the tweets that is no longer visible in India:
The Indian government has ordered Twitter to censor tweets for the second time in recent months. India had previously asked Twitter to remove some tweets and ban several handles as the farmers’ protest gained traction. Twitter partly complied with the Indian government’s appeal, but after a backlash, the decision was overturned in several cases.
Twitter’s official position on legal demands for content on its website is as follows: “When we get a legitimate legal request, we check it under both the Twitter Rules and local legislation.” If the post is found to be in violation of Twitter’s Terms of Use, it will be deleted from the service. The biannual Twitter Transparency Report details the legal demands we get, and requests to withhold material are released on Lumen.
