Twitter India Said to Seek Judicial Review of Content Takedown Orders

Twitter is in search of to overturn some Indian authorities orders to take down content material on the social media platform, a supply acquainted with the matter mentioned, in a authorized problem which alleges abuse of energy by officers.

The US firm’s try to get a judicial evaluate is a part of a rising confrontation with New Delhi.

Twitter has been requested by Indian authorities over the previous yr to behave on content material together with accounts supportive of an unbiased Sikh state, posts alleged to have unfold misinformation about protests by farmers and over tweets important of the federal government’s dealing with of the COVID-19 pandemic.

India’s IT ministry didn’t instantly reply on Tuesday to a request for remark about Twitter’s authorized transfer.

The Indian authorities has beforehand mentioned that large social media corporations, together with Twitter, haven’t complied with elimination requests, regardless of their authorized standing.

Late final month, Twitter was warned by India’s IT ministry of felony proceedings if it didn’t adjust to some orders. Twitter complied this week, the supply mentioned, in order to not lose legal responsibility exemptions accessible as a bunch of content material.

Twitter argues in its request for a judicial evaluate that some elimination orders fell wanting the procedural necessities of India’s IT Act, the supply mentioned, with out specifying which of them Twitter needed to be reviewed.

The IT Act permits the federal government to dam public entry to content material within the curiosity of nationwide safety, amongst different causes.

Twitter, which market analysis corporations say has almost 24 million customers in India, additionally argues in its submitting that among the orders failed to provide discover to the authors of the content material.

It additionally says that some have been associated to political content material posted by official handles of political events, the blocking of which amounted to a violation of freedom of speech, the supply added.

Tensions with the Indian authorities flared early final yr when Twitter declined to completely adjust to an order to take down accounts and posts which New Delhi alleged have been spreading misinformation about anti-government protests by farmers.

The firm has additionally been topic to police investigations in India and final yr many Indian authorities ministers moved to the domestically developed platform Koo, accusing Twitter of non-compliance with native legal guidelines.

Twitter has additionally confronted a backlash in India for blocking accounts of influential people, together with politicians, citing violations of its insurance policies.

India, which business transparency reviews present has among the many highest authorities requests for content material takedowns, is contemplating some amendments to its new IT guidelines, together with the introduction of a government-run appeals panel with the ability to reverse the content material moderation selections of social media corporations.

New Delhi has mentioned such measures have been wanted as a result of the businesses had violated Indians’ constitutional rights.

© Thomson Reuters 2022