Twitter defaming India, defying laws, says government

With microblogging platform Twitter on Thursday expressing concerns over “intimidation tactics” by Delhi Police and “potential threat to freedom of expression” in India, the government hit back, calling the statement baseless, false and an attempt to defame India to hide their own follies. The U.S.-headquartered firm expressed concerns over “recent events regarding its employees in India” and said it plans to advocate changes in core elements of the new IT Rules that inhibit free and open public conversation. Protecting free speech in India is not the prerogative of only a private, for-profit, foreign entity like Twitter, but it is the commitment of the world’s largest democracy and its robust institutions.” The Ministry added that the allegation of use of “intimidation tactics” by the police are “completely baseless”. It further pointed out that Twitter representatives in India routinely claim that they have no authority and that they and the people of India need to escalate everything to the Twitter headquarters in the U.S. “The purported commitment of Twitter, to its Indian user base, thus not only sounds hollow but completely self-serving.” Editorial | Character challenge: On GoI's directive to Twitter According to Twitter, with regards to the new IT rules, it is particularly concerned about the requirement to make an individual criminally liable for content on the platform, the requirements for proactive monitoring, and the blanket authority to seek information about its customers. “.The only instance of scuttling free speech on Twitter is Twitter itself and its opaque policies, as a result of which people’s accounts are suspended and tweets deleted arbitrarily without recourse,” the government said, adding that Twitter’s lack of responsibility has led to rampant proliferation of fake and harmful content against India and Indians.