Twitter Apologises After Showing Jammu & Kashmir, Leh As A Part Of China

Twitter India on Thursday tendered a verbal apology to the joint parliamentary committee on personal data protection over location tag in a live broadcast showing Leh and J&K as part of China.

Courtesy: gettyimages

New Delhi: Twitter India verbally apologized to the joint parliamentary committee on personal data protection over location tag in a live broadcast showing Leh and & Jammu & Kashmir as part of China. As per news agency ANI, the parliamentary panel expressed its displeasure to Twitter over the issue and asked the micro-blogging platform to tender written apology and submit an affidavit. The parliamentary panel accused the micro blogging social media website of disrespecting India’s sovereignty after mapping data showed Indian-ruled territory as part of China in what the social network said was a quickly resolved mistake. Twitter executives appeared before the Joint Committee on the Personal Data Protection Bill to explain the error that came to light last week and which the company said had since been resolved. But committee chairwoman Meenakshi Lekhi, Bhartiya Janta Party Lok Sabha member, said the committee was unanimous that Twitter`s explanation was inadequate. Further adding to the statement, the BJP MP said, "Twitter stating that it respects the sensitivity (of the issue) was not adequate. It is matter of Indian sovereignty and integrity,". "Showing Ladakh as part of China amounts to a criminal offence," Lekhi added. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in a letter to, Electronics and IT Ministry Secretary, Ajay Sawhney, stated that the government strongly disapproved such misrepresentation of the country’s map. Sawhney stated in the letter that such attempts, while bringing disrepute to Twitter, also raise questions on the social media platform’s neutrality and fairness as an intermediary. Asking Twitter to respect the sensitivities of Indian citizens, the Electronics and IT Ministry Secretary wrote in the communication that any attempt by Twitter to disrespect the sovereignty and integrity of India, which is also reflected by the maps, is totally unacceptable and also unlawful.