EXPLAINED | Notices And FIRs Registered Against Twitter India In Various Cases

Twitter has received notices for several issues such as spreading communal unrest, pornographic material, false maps, and closing the accounts of Union Minister and Congress MP.

Representative Image

Microblogging site Twitter is facing multiple challenges in the country as it continues to tussle with the central government regarding the new IT rules. During this period, Twitter has received multiple notices on several issues such as spreading communal unrest, pornographic material, pornographic content featuring children, publishing the wrong map of India, and closing accounts of Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. 

Wrong Map Of India

Two FIRs have been lodged in UP and MP against senior Twitter officials in India for publishing the wrong map of the country. An FIR has been registered in Khurja Kotwali of Bulandshahr district on this issue. Lawyer Praveen Bhati, a resident of Khurja Nagar in Bulandshahr district of UP, has filed a case at Khurja Kotwali Nagar police station, saying that J&K and Ladakh have been excluded from the map of India by Twitter. Praveen Bhati is also the co-convener of the Uttar Pradesh Bajrang Dal.

In MP, too, an FIR has been lodged against Twitter regarding the wrong map. A few hours after MP Home Minister Narottam Mishra's orders, the cyber cell registered an FIR against Twitter MD Manish Maheshwari on the issue of showing Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh as separate countries on the map of India.

Cases For Spreading Communal Unrest

Twitter MD Manish Maheshwari was recently summoned by the Ghaziabad Police of Uttar Pradesh for posting an objectionable video in connection with the attack on an elderly Muslim man. In this case, the Uttar Pradesh Police moved the Supreme Court against the order of the Karnataka High Court which stayed punitive action to be taken against Maheshwari.

On June 24, the High Court asked the Ghaziabad Police not to take coercive action against Maheshwari and also said that he can be interrogated digitally. 

On June 15, the Ghaziabad Police had registered a case against Twitter Inc., Twitter Communications India, news portal The Wire, journalists Muhammad Zubair and Rana Ayyub, as well as Congress leaders Salman Nizami, Maskoor Usmani, Shama Mohammad, and writer Saba Naqvi. A case was lodged against all of them for circulating a video of an elderly man who had been assaulted with the intention of spreading communal unrest.

Parliamentary Committee Calls Twitter

Twitter was at the receiving end yet again after it temporarily blocked the account of Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad for allegedly violating the US copyright law. A Parliament committee has sought a reply from this microblogging site in the matter of temporary closure of the Twitter accounts of Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor.

'Pornographic Content'

National Commission for Women Chairperson Rekha Sharma wrote a letter to the Managing Director of Twitter India, asking him to remove 'pornographic and obscene material' immediately and inform the steps taken in this regard within 10 days. A letter has also been written to the Commissioner of Police of Delhi, saying that this matter should be investigated and appropriate legal action should be taken.

Children-Related Pornographic Material

Delhi Police has issued a notice to microblogging site Twitter seeking information about the steps taken against the circulation of children-related pornographic material on its platform. The notice was sent to Twitter on Tuesday. The Delhi Police had registered an FIR in this regard on the complaint of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), alleging that it has allowed access to child pornography on its platform.