Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey Likes Tweet Praising Rihanna Raises Questions

After restoring accounts that used the hashtag '#ModiPlanningFarmerGenocide' co-founder Jack Dorsey likes tweets which are pro-farmers.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images/AFP

New Delhi: Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey raised quite a few eyebrows when he 'liked' tweets which praised Rihanna for showing her support towards the farmers who are protesting in India. One of the tweets he liked was by Washington Post reporter Karen Attiah who praised the American popstar for voicing her opinion over the Farmers Protest. Dorsey also like another tweet by the reporter asking Twitter to create an emoji like it did for Black Lives Matter protests after the death of George Floyd.

A TOI report quoted a government source as saying "If the founder of Twitter is openly taking sides, it does raise questions over the neutrality of the platform and how it deals with India's requests related to the subject." 

The Indian government recently asked Twitter to take down 257 accounts which used #ModiPlanningFarmerGenocide under the Section 69A of the IT Act. Complying with the order, Twitter blocked the listed accounts and tweets but later restored the accounts. Now a fresh notice has been sent to Twitter asking to block 1,178 Twitter accounts suspected to be linked to Khalistan sympathisers and some backed by Pakistan.
If Twitter refuses to comply with the order Top Twitter management in India can face penal action can include seven-year imprisonment and fine. According to an IANS report, the first notice read, "It needs to be mentioned that Section 69A(3) provides for specific penal consequences in case of non-compliance of the directions issued under Section 69A of the Act."

Admist the growing tension between the Indian government and Twitter, Public Policy Director for India and South Asia for Twitter, Mahima Kaul, resigned from her post earlier this month to focus on personal life. Though no direct connection has been found between her decision to step down and the recent disagreements.