Indian govt responds on Koo to Twitter's blog listing action against provocative content on farmers' agitation

In a blog, Twitter underscored that the values behind Open Internet and free expression are under threat across the world.

"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," Twitter said in the blog post.

However, the government in a post on koo, pitched as Twitter's Indian rival, called the blog "unusual".

Twitter said it hasn't taken action against those accounts that consist of news media entities, politicians,  activists and journalists as banning such accounts will be inconsistent with the Indian laws.

"Because we do not believe that the actions we have been directed to take are consistent with Indian law, and, 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," it said.

The government posted its response on Koo, it said Secretary IT will engage with senior management of Twitter.

"Upon the request of Twitter seeking a meeting with the Govt., the Secretary IT was to engage with senior management of Twitter. In this light a blog post published prior to this engagement is unusual. Govt. will share its response soon," read the post.

The government has alleged that the blocking orders for 1,178 accounts were given as they belonged to Pakistani and Khalistani users.

It said many of these accounts were automated bots that were used for "sharing and amplifying" misinformation and provocative contents on farmers' protests.

These Twitter handles are causing threat to public order in view of the ongoing farmers protests, the government said.

However, if Twitter does not comply with the notice served under section 69A of the IT Act, legal action would follow, said a government, reported NDTV.

The government source said it is trying to convince the social networking site that its concerns are genuine. These handles were shortlisted after security agencies flagged them as those of Khalistan sympathizers or backed by Pakistan and are being operated from foreign territories, details of which have been shared with Twitter, the report stated.

However, Twitter in its blog asserted : "We will continue to advocate for the right of free expression on behalf of the people we serve and are actively 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.

"Two were emergency blocking orders that we temporarily complied with but subsequently restored access to the content in a manner that we believe was consistent with Indian law. After we communicated this to MeitY, we were served with a non-compliance notice."

In the blog, Twitter listed the actions taken against misinformation and malicious content reducing the visibility of hashtags containing harmful content, prohibiting them from trending on Twitter and blocking them from appearing as recommended search items. It also permanently suspended 500 accounts, complying with all government orders.