Twitter says India's orders to block accounts inconsistent with local law

NEW DELHI:

Twitter said on Tuesday it believes orders by the Indian government to take down accounts are inconsistent with local law and that for some accounts, it would not agree to an outright ban and would instead restrict access within India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has asked Twitter to take down more than 1,100 accounts and posts it says accuse the administration of trying to wipe out farmers. Some accounts, the government said, are backed by arch-rival Pakistan or are operated by supporters of a separatist Sikh movement.

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India’s security agencies said some of the accounts were being operated from outside of the country, one of the sources said, declining to be named as the order is not public. The order also involved the Twitter accounts of some supporters of the movement for an independent Sikh homeland called Khalistan.

Many of these accounts were sharing and amplifying misinformation and provocative content on the ongoing farmer's protests, the source added.

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While Twitter has taken a range of actions, including permanent suspensions, against more than 500 accounts that were part of the government order, not all accounts have been blocked, the social media firm said in a blog post.

“These accounts continue to be available outside of India,” Twitter said.

“Because we do not believe that the actions we have been directed to take are consistent with Indian law.”