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Twitter made a provocative voice on it struggle Work with India to restrict accounts in that country. On Monday, the company issued its first official response, the first official response since the Indian government requested the refreezing of more than 250 accounts that were restored in ignorance of the IT Ministry’s order. Among the blocked accounts are Caravan, a news magazine, and critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The company said in a statement shared with BuzzFeed News: “We firmly believe that open and free information exchange will have a positive impact on the world, and tweets must continue to circulate.”
Twitter’s statement coincided with a standoff from India’s increasingly authoritarian government. Millions of farmers protested against agricultural reforms, shaking up India.
on Monday, Indian media reports Said that the government has asked the company to block nearly 1,200 more accounts. The account said the company had posted information about the protests on Twitter and was operating from Pakistan.A kind report The Times of India also quoted an anonymous government official as saying that India is dissatisfied with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey because they like tweets supporting the protests. A Twitter spokesperson declined to comment.
On January 31, India’s IT Ministry has ordered Twitter prevent There are more than 250 accounts belonging to activists, political commentators and caravans across the country. Twitter initially complied, but changed course six hours later.In response, the Indian government Order The website once again blocked accounts and threatened Twitter officials in India to face legal consequences for violating the order, including fines and up to 7 years in prison.
But a week later, these accounts are still increasing, which puts the company’s employees in India at risk of government retaliation.
The company’s statement said: “On Twitter, ensuring employee safety is our top priority.” “We continue to approach the Indian government with respect and have a formal dialogue with the respected minister of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. “
Twitter’s move has made it the center of the free speech debate in the country, which is constantly suppressing dissidents because of the protests of millions of farmers who oppose agricultural reforms, who say agricultural reforms will hurt their incomes. For Twitter, blocking the account again would mean enabling this crackdown, but not restricting them would have legal consequences.
Twitter said: “We will review every report received from the government as soon as possible, and take appropriate action on these reports, while ensuring that we strengthen our fundamental values and our commitment to protecting the public dialogue.” “Through our established agreement with the government Communication channels can share the latest information.”
Despite the polite language, some people, Including ex Twitter employees saw a double meaning in the statement. During the Arab Spring of 2011, the company’s co-founder Biz Stone and former general counsel Alexander Macgillivray wrote a post clarifying the company’s position on freedom of speech.it is title: “Tweets must be circulated.”
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