New Delhi: Popular microblogging platform Twitter has reportedly censored 52 tweets after receiving requests from the central government. Most of them are said to be the ones critical of India’s handling of the recent Covid-19 crisis.
These removed tweets include posts by politicians, actors, directors and journalists.
According to recent media reports, Twitter has removed 52 tweets - many of which were about the shortage of medicines, beds, mass cremations, and the crowds at Kumbh Mela amid the second wave of Coronavirus pandemic.
These tweets are blocked for viewing in India but are visible to users outside the country.
A Twitter user publicly shared a notice he received from the platform's legal team.
While several media reports have been written about this development, the first report in this regard was filed by MediaNama which also reached out to Twitter for a response.
“When we receive a valid legal request, we review it under both the Twitter Rules and local law. If the content violates Twitter’s Rules, the content will be removed from the service. If it is determined to be illegal in a particular jurisdiction, but not in violation of the Twitter Rules, we may withhold access to the content in India only. In all cases, we notify the account holder directly so they’re aware that we’ve received a legal order pertaining to the account,” MediaNama quoted the Twitter Spokesperson as saying.
IT Ministry Sources Respond
Responding to these concerns, ANI quoted sources from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology as saying: "In view of social media misuse by certain users to spread fake information about Covid situation by using unrelated/old/out of context images/visuals, misinformation about Covid protocols, MeitY asked social media platforms to remove around 100 posts".
"This decision has been taken to prevent obstructions in the fight against the pandemic and escalation of public order due to these posts," MeitY Sources added.