Supreme Court issues notice to Centre, Twitter over mechanism to check fake news

The court issued the notice while hearing a plea filed by ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vinit Goenka seeking a mechanism to check Twitter content and fake news spreading hatred on Twitter.

The notice has been served at a time the Centre and Twitter are at the loggerheads over the government's direction to the social media giant to block over 1,000 accounts.

Twitter in its fresh statement on Wednesday said it has withheld the portion of accounts identified in the blocking orders served by the Indian government within the country.

As per the order of the Indian government, Twitter had blocked over 1,100 accounts for allegedly spreading misinformation over the farmers' protests, which is going on in and around the national capital for over 70 days. 

In the same line, the US social media giant in its statement highlighted the freedom of speech saying, "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."

In a strict message to Twitter, Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said, "You will have to follow the constitution of India, you will have to abide by the laws of India."