twitter vs Centre
twitter vs Centre: According to sources familiar with the filing, Twitter has requested the Karnataka High Court to reverse some of the Centre’s orders to block the content, arguing that the orders are arbitrary and show “disproportionate use of power“.
It is the latest in an ongoing confrontation between the government and the US social media giant.
According to sources, Twitter’s case is that there are multiple accounts and content included in the blocking order:
1- Overbroad and arbitrary
2- Failed to provide notice to content promoters
3- Are disproportionate in many cases
“Many may be related to political content that is posted by official handles of political parties,” says Twitter, adding that blocking such information is a violation of users’ freedom of expression.
Twitter says it is “committed to the principles of openness, transparency”.
According to sources close to the filing, Twitter’s grounds for prosecuting the government are:
1. Many of the restraining orders are “procedural and substantially reduced” under section 69A of the Information Technology Act, which restricts access to the sovereignty and integrity of India, the defense, security, friendly relations with other countries or public to the government allows for count.
1- One of the gaps is not to give users notice.
2. The limit of detention under section 69A has not been met.
Since some of the material may only be political speech, criticism and newsworthy material in nature, these blocking orders do not meet the criteria provided for under section 69A.
3. Disproportionate use of power
Twitter says account-level blocking is primarily a disproportionate measure and violates users’ rights under the Constitution. This is especially so when the reasons for blocking the URL and the reasons for blocking an account lack specificity and cite Aadhaar only under section 69A.
Twitter argues that even the Ministry of Electronics and IT has said that deleting the entire user account should be a last resort.
“Twitter has sought judicial review of certain content that is part of various blocking orders on the above grounds and has sought court relief to quash these blocking orders,” the company said.
India has 24 million Twitter users and is the third largest market for the company.
Reacting to Twitter’s legal move, the government said it is important to hold social media accountable.
IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said, “Accountability of social media has become a legitimate question globally. It is important to hold it accountable, starting with self-regulation first, then industry regulation, then government regulation.”
Recently, Twitter blocked access to 80 links, following a government notice, including protests from farmers and content related to Pakistani government accounts.
