Twitter yet to comply with Government order to block 257 tweets and one hashtag

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has threatened to take punitive action against social media platform Twitter for failing to follow its order about the blocking of 257 URLs and one hashtag (ModiPlanningFarmerGenocide). The hashtag generated 1000 tweets on Thursday.

Twitter has unblocked 100 Twitter accounts and 150 tweets despite a Government order to block them for posting controversial tweets related to protests against farm laws. The ministry issued a notice to Twitter saying the platform was in violation of the Information Technology Act’s Section 69 that provides for seven year imprisonment.

The MeitY notice stated, “This is a motivated campaign to abuse, inflame and create tension in society on unsubstantiated grounds. Incitement to Genocide is not Freedom of Speech; it is threat to law and order.”

Twitter had temporarily blocked the handles of Kisan Ekta Morcha, The Caravan, Prasar Bharti CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati, activist Hansraj Meena, former Lok Sabha member Mohammed Salim, and actor Sushant Singh among others on 2 February. These accounts were restored by evening.  

The company has not yet complied with the Government order.