Twitter Faces Rs 50 Lakh Non-Compliance Penalty As Karnataka HC Dismisses Plea Against Blocking Orders

Last week, Jack Dorsey, the co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, disclosed that the Indian government applied pressure on the micro-blogging platform.

Dorsey revealed that Twitter received numerous requests to block accounts associated with the farmers' protests and journalists who voiced criticism against the government.

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The Karnataka High Court has imposed a penalty of Rs 50 lakh on Twitter after the social media platform challenged the IT ministry's blocking orders. The court rejected Twitter's request to stay the Centre's order and deemed the platform's conduct as the reason for the penalty. The Centre had instructed Twitter to remove certain accounts containing tweets related to the farmers' protests and the coronavirus.

Twitter contended that the blocking orders lacked procedural and substantial validity and constituted an excessive exercise of power, as reported by Live Law.

The petition filed by Twitter Inc, challenging the blocking orders issued to it by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act has been dismissed by the High Court of Karnataka. pic.twitter.com/yULAx2LTzf

— ANI (@ANI) June 30, 2023

Last year, the IT ministry issued a notice to Twitter, warning that failure to remove the tweets would result in the loss of its safe harbour immunity provided by Section 79(1) of the IT Act. In response, Twitter approached the court, questioning the directive to block user accounts and its impact on freedom of speech. Twitter's representative, senior advocate Arvind Dat, argued that blocking 1,200 accounts on their platform, despite the content being available in print and on TV, would cause prejudice.

During the announcement of the verdict, the bench stated that Twitter had received notices but failed to comply. The non-compliance could lead to a punishment of seven years' imprisonment and an unlimited fine. The court reportedly criticised Twitter's delayed compliance without providing a reason for the year-long delay, highlighting that the company was not a farmer but a billion-dollar corporation.

Meanwhile last week, Jack Dorsey, the co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, disclosed that the Indian government applied pressure on the micro-blogging platform to impose restrictions on multiple accounts during the farmer protests. Dorsey stated that if Twitter did not comply, the Indian government threatened to take severe actions, including the closure of Twitter offices and conducting raids on employees' residences.

During an interview on the political podcast Breaking Points, Dorsey revealed that Twitter received numerous requests to block accounts associated with the farmers' protests and journalists who voiced criticism against the government.

In response, the Indian government swiftly reacted to Dorsey's statements. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Union Minister of State for Electronics & Technology, dismissed the allegations made by Dorsey, considering them unfounded and categorising them as outright lies. Chandrasekhar clarified that no individuals were imprisoned, and there were no shutdowns imposed on Twitter.

He emphasised that under Dorsey's leadership, Twitter demonstrated reluctance in recognising the authority of Indian law. Chandrasekhar took to Twitter and expressed that the company, under Dorsey and his team, consistently violated Indian law from 2020 to 2022. It was only in June 2022 that they finally began adhering to the regulations, as Chandrasekhar claimed. He underscored that no one was incarcerated, and Twitter did not face any shutdowns during that period.