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As the world keeps watching the tussle between powerful social media platforms like Facebook and more recently, Twitter, with the Indian government, negotiating compliance, co-participation, and in a new series of events, their autonomy, one keeps tinkering with the idea of the role of social media in the society.
On February 08, the Centre asked micro-blogging platform Twitter to remove 1,178 accounts related to farmers’ protests that the government claims it suspects to be linked to Khalistan sympathisers or back by Pakistan. The Hindu mentions, “Additionally, the government feels that Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey ‘liking’ a few tweets supporting the protest raises questions over the platform’s neutrality.”
Al Jazeera explains, “New Delhi wrote to Twitter on February 4, asking it to remove the accounts, which it said were backed by archrival Pakistan or operated by sympathisers of Sikh separatists, two technology ministry sources said, adding the company had yet to comply.”
Quoting a spokeswoman for Twitter in India who added that the safety of its local staff was a top company priority, Al Jazeera continues, “We continue to be engaged with the government of India from a position of respect and have reached out to the Honourable Minister for a formal dialogue.”
This event comes amid the ongoing tussle between the government and the website which recently overruled the Centre’s decision to remove about 257 accounts over usage of content related to the farmers’ protests. On January 31, the IT Ministry had sent a list of handles and tweets to be blocked. Twitter blocked these accounts for a few hours before unilaterally unblocking them.
Quoting an emailed response, The Hindu states, “If we receive a valid legal request about potentially illegal content on Twitter, we review it under the Twitter Rules and local law. If the content violates Twitter’s Rules, the content will be removed from the service. If it is determined to be illegal in a particular jurisdiction but not in violation of the Twitter Rules, we may withhold access to the content in the location only. In all cases, we notify the account holder directly so they’re aware we’ve received a legal order pertaining to the account. Our goal is to respect local law while protecting our foundational principles of free expression.”
In a society which is increasingly moving towards hyper-surveillance, there is a need to keep negotiating for more autonomy and freedom of voice. Platforms like Twitter, when in support of citizens, can prove to be the most efficient microphone for people in this quest.
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