Twitter 'Withholds' Journalist Rana Ayyub's Account In India After 'Legal Request'

Taking to Twitter, Ayyub said, "Hello Twitter, what exactly is this?"

Journalist Rana Ayyub.

Source : Getty Images

New Delhi: In accordance with the Information Technology Act of 2000, Twitter withheld the journalist Rana Ayyub's account in India, according to a notification she shared on her account on Sunday, news agency ANI reported.

Taking to Twitter, Ayyub said, "Hello Twitter, what exactly is this?"

Hello @Twitter ,what exactly is this ? pic.twitter.com/26rRzp0eYu

— Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) June 26, 2022

"In order to comply with Twitter's obligations under India's local laws, we have withheld the following account in India under the country's Information Technology Act, 2000: the content remains available elsewhere," reads the official notification. 

"As Twitter strongly believes in defending and respecting the voice of the people who use our service, it is our policy to notify account holders if we receive a legal request from an authorized entity (such law enforcement or government agency) to remove content from their account. We provide notice whether or not the user lives in the country where the request originated," it further reads. 

Tennis star Martina Navaratolina responded to Ayyb's post by saying, "Who is next? just awful." In her post, she mentioned Twitter and Rana Ayyub.

Shashi Shekhar Vempati, a former CEO of Prasar Bharati, suggested that the Twitter warning might be "either a bug or a delayed reaction to past incidents."

 "Noticed many hyperventilating tweets regarding so called online censorship by Govt of India via Twitter India . It either seems to be a bug or a delayed reaction to past incidents for I too have received such an email from Twitter overnight for the incident last year," Vempati tweeted.

The former CEO of Prasar Bharti also disclosed an email he had received with an identical message.

 In reference to Rana Ayyub's tweet, Vempati tweeted, "Including an account withheld in India message from Twitter, Twitter India. Perhaps the "celebrity Islamophobia Activist" can pipe down and stop claiming victimhood."

Including an account withheld in India message from @Twitter @TwitterIndia. Perhaps the “celebrity Islamophobia Activist” can pipe down and stop claiming victimhood. pic.twitter.com/lq4497ock9

— Shashi Shekhar Vempati शशि शेखर (@shashidigital) June 27, 2022

Vempati was one of individuals whose accounts were frozen last year at the request of the Ministry of Home Affairs and law enforcement organisations to prevent any deterioration of the peace and order situation during the farmers' agitation.

In response to a legitimate legal need, such as a court order, Twitter "was compelled to withhold the entire account specified," according to the microblogging site.

Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate seized 1.77 crore from Washington Post journalist Rana Ayyub in a money laundering case in February.

According to an official, Ayyub reportedly used money intended for three campaigns for personal purposes.

(With ANI Inputs)