Government denies Twitter founder's allegations of Indian pressure; IT Minister slams 'outright lie'
New Delhi, June 13: The Indian government has strongly denied Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey's claims of receiving multiple requests from India to censor accounts critical of the government and those reporting on farmers' protests, as well as threats to shut down the platform.
Union IT Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar responded to Dorsey's comments, calling them an "outright lie" and suggesting that they were an attempt to cover up a questionable period in Twitter's history.
Dorsey made these allegations during an interview on the YouTube channel Breaking Points. When asked if he had faced pressure from foreign governments, Dorsey specifically mentioned India, stating that the country had made numerous requests regarding the farmers' protests and critical journalists.
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He claimed that these requests included threats to shut down Twitter in India, raid the homes of its employees, and close down its offices if the platform did not comply. Dorsey characterized India as a democratic country while highlighting the alleged government pressure.
Jack Dorsey, who stepped down as Twitter CEO in 2021, also mentioned other countries such as Turkey and Nigeria, which had imposed restrictions on Twitter within their nations at various points in time before lifting the bans. He drew a comparison between the actions of these governments and India's approach.
This is an outright lie by @jack - perhaps an attempt to brush out that very dubious period of twitters history
Facts and truth@twitter undr Dorsey n his team were in repeated n continuous violations of India law. As a matter of fact they were in non-compliance with law… https://t.co/SlzmTcS3Fa — Rajeev Chandrasekhar ???????? (@Rajeev_GoI) June 13, 2023
Dorsey's comments were shared by several leaders from the Indian National Congress party. In response, Rajeev Chandrasekhar posted a lengthy statement refuting Dorsey's claims. He accused Twitter, during Dorsey's tenure, of repeatedly and continuously violating Indian law and disregarding the sovereignty of Indian law. Chandrasekhar emphasized that Twitter's compliance with Indian law only came in June 2022, after a period of non-compliance from 2020 to 2022. He clarified that no one from Twitter had been arrested, and the platform was not shut down.
Chandrasekhar stressed that India, as a sovereign nation, had the right to ensure compliance with its laws by all companies operating within its borders. He mentioned that during the January 2021 protests, Twitter was involved in spreading misinformation and even reports of fake genocide. The government took action to remove such misinformation from the platform to prevent further escalation based on false news.
The IT Minister accused Jack Dorsey's Twitter regime of exhibiting partisan behavior, highlighting how Twitter had difficulties removing misinformation from its platform in India while taking action during similar events in the United States. Chandrasekhar pointed out that there was ample evidence in the public domain of Twitter's arbitrary, partisan, discriminatory conduct, and misuse of power during that period. He argued that Twitter's actions violated the Indian constitution and assisted in weaponizing misinformation.
Chandrasekhar concluded by reaffirming the Indian government's stance that all intermediaries operating in India must comply with the country's laws to ensure a safe and trustworthy internet environment. He mentioned that the farmers' protests ended in November 2021 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the withdrawal of three controversial farm laws.
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- With inputs from agencies
