Farmer agitation: Ban on more than 500 accounts, use of objectionable hashtag stopped

Microblogging site Twitter said on Wednesday that it has banned certain accounts as directed by the Indian government to close certain accounts only in India. However, the Twitter handle of social workers, politicians and media has not been blocked as doing so would violate the basic right to freedom of expression.Twitter insisted that it would continue to support its users ‘freedom of expression and for this, it is actively considering options under Indian law that affect Twitter and users’ accounts.Explain that the government asked Twitter to close many such accounts that are allegedly sharing misleading and inflammatory information about the ongoing farmers movement in the country. The government has also warned of taking legal action if it does not comply with the order. On a demand to clarify the stance, Twitter said in a blogpost that it has taken steps to prevent harmful content from appearing in such a way as to prevent trending of such hashtags and not recommending them during search. Twitter has also informed the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to implement these measures. Twitter underlined that it has acted on more than 500 accounts under all orders from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. These include the move to permanently shut down the account for violating Twitter rules.Sources said that there are 257 such Twitter handles posted with objectionable hashtags, 126 of which have been blocked just a few days ago. In addition, the government suspects that 1,178 handles are linked to Khalistani, Pakistani elements who disseminate misinformation, 583 such accounts have been blocked. Under Section 69A (3) of the IT Act, Twitter’s top officials were warned that they could face up to seven years in prison.Twitter said, “The threat behind the values ​​behind the free Internet and expression is increasing throughout the world …. Twitter is to give strength to the voices that must be heard and we will continue to improve our services so that all – Beyond thoughts and attitude – feel safe to participate in public debate. ‘