Twitter follows govt orders; takes action on 500 accounts in India

Amid farmers protest in India, the Government of India had issued a notice to Twitter to comply with its order to remove contents and accounts related to farmer genocide. It had also been warned of penal action for non-compliance. Also Read | Farmers Protest: Govt tells Twitter to remove 1178 Pakistani-Khalistani accounts Twitter informed that it has withheld some of the accounts flagged by the Indian government for blocking "within India only", but has not blocked handles of civil society activists, politicians and media as "it would violate their fundamental right to free expression" guaranteed under country's law. It also emphasized on the fact that it will continue to advocate for the right of free expression of its users and that it is “actively exploring options under Indian law — both for Twitter and for the accounts that have been impacted”. Also Read | 550 Twitter accounts suspended after violence during Republic Day tractor rally In its blogpost, it said it had taken steps to reduce visibility of the hashtags containing harmful content that included prohibiting them from trending on Twitter and appearing as recommended search terms. The social media platform has also informed the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) of its enforcement action. Also Read | Govt issues notice to Twitter to remove contents related to farmer genocide Twitter said that it has taken a range of enforcement actions against more than 500 accounts escalated across all MeitY orders which includes permanent suspension in certain cases for violation of Twitter rules. The farmers have been protesting against the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. -PTC News