The government may take strict action against Twitter over inadvertence in blocking all URLs associated with the Farmers Genocide hashtag on the Twitter handle. The government says that Twitter is following the government’s instructions half-heartedly, which cannot be tolerated. Twitter was given instructions from a committee constituted under the Information Technology Act (IT Act) which should have been followed within 48 hours.
Strict instructions were given to twitter
Late Wednesday evening, the top secretary of Twitter received a virtual meeting with the IT secretary. According to sources, Twitter was told that it would have to follow the law of India and do business here according to Indian arrangements. Failure to do so will result in action against Twitter under Section 69A of the IT Act, which carries a jail term.
Half-hearted adherence will not work
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has made it clear to the microblogging site that half-hearted adherence to the instructions will not work and that they will have to fully follow the directive of the Constitutional Committee of India to do business in India. The surprising thing is that before the meeting, the statement was again issued by Twitter.
Supreme Court has also given provisions
Twitter was also told in several Supreme Court cases that the right to freedom of speech does not cease when it threatens law and order and social order.
Tweets made to provoke
On January 31, the government directed Twitter to deactivate 257 URLs associated with Farmers Genocide, but so far action has been taken against only 126 URLs. Similarly, the government had also directed to block 1,178 Twitter accounts which are pro-Pakistan and Khalistan and were tweeting in the name of Kisan agitation to incite unrest and disturbance in India. Twitter has closed only 583 accounts.
Inappropriate to remove the propaganda tweet
According to the ministry, Twitter immediately followed the government’s directive in the US Capitol Hill violence case, but when asked to delete misleading and propaganda tweets in favour of farmers protest then it is teaching India freedom of expression.
Such tweets are dangerous for the integrity of the country
Such tweets can be dangerous to the unity and integrity of India and hashtags like ‘Modi Plans Farmer Genocide’ cannot be freedom of expression. According to sources in the ministry, the constitution of the country gives freedom of expression but also gives the government the right to block it to a limit to protect the country’s security and sovereignty.
