Freedom of Speech Vs ‘Threat to the Nation’: What’s the Twitter Controversy About? I TWBR
- 3 years ago
In recent weeks, a controversy has broken out around Twitter and the lines of free speech. Things came to a head when Twitter blocked over 200 tweets and handles that the Central government wanted to be removed from public view.
Within hours of doing the block, the social media network then went on to restore some of the accounts and tweets – including the handles of Caravan magazine and Kisan Ekta Morcha.
Over the last few years, the government’s decision to block websites, hashtags and Twitter accounts under legal provisions that cover the “sovereignty and integrity of India” have raised questions about the transparency surrounding the blocking process.
It’s now a lock jam - the government warns of serious consequences for Twitter’s executives in India while the social media company reiterates its commitment to balancing the removal of content with the idea of protecting public conversation.
In the meanwhile, The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Centre and Twitter India and sought responses from them on a petition seeking a mechanism to “check Twitter content and advertisements spreading hatred through fake news and instigative messages through bogus accounts.”
In a conversation with Mitali Mukherjee, Apar Gupta - Executive Director at the Internet Freedom Foundation pointed out that the crux of the problem lay in an opaque interpretation of Section 69A ( Under which these decisions are taken) and a lack of transparency around the what and why of moves to block websites and social media handles.
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Within hours of doing the block, the social media network then went on to restore some of the accounts and tweets – including the handles of Caravan magazine and Kisan Ekta Morcha.
Over the last few years, the government’s decision to block websites, hashtags and Twitter accounts under legal provisions that cover the “sovereignty and integrity of India” have raised questions about the transparency surrounding the blocking process.
It’s now a lock jam - the government warns of serious consequences for Twitter’s executives in India while the social media company reiterates its commitment to balancing the removal of content with the idea of protecting public conversation.
In the meanwhile, The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Centre and Twitter India and sought responses from them on a petition seeking a mechanism to “check Twitter content and advertisements spreading hatred through fake news and instigative messages through bogus accounts.”
In a conversation with Mitali Mukherjee, Apar Gupta - Executive Director at the Internet Freedom Foundation pointed out that the crux of the problem lay in an opaque interpretation of Section 69A ( Under which these decisions are taken) and a lack of transparency around the what and why of moves to block websites and social media handles.
Like our work? Click here to support The Wire: https://thewire.in/support
The founding premise of The Wire is this: if good journalism is to survive and thrive, it can only do so by being both editorially and financially independent. This means relying principally on contributions from readers and concerned citizens who have no interest other than to sustain a space for quality journalism. As a publication, The Wire will be firmly committed to the public interest and democratic values.
We publish in four different languages!
For English, visit www.thewire.in
for Hindi: http://thewirehindi.com/
for Urdu: http://thewireurdu.com
for Marathi: https://marathi.thewire.in
If you are a young writer or a creator, you can submit articles, essays, photos, poetry – anything that’s straight out of your imagination – to LiveWire, The Wire’s portal for the young, by the young. https://livewire.thewire.in/
You can also follow The Wire’s social media platforms and engage with us.
https://www.facebook.com/TheWire/
https://www.facebook.com/TheWireHindi/
https://www.facebook.com/TheWireUrdu/
https://www.facebook.com/TheWireMarathi/
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https://twitter.com/thewirehindi
https://twitter.com/TheWireUrdu
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https://twitter.com/livewire
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https://www.instagram.com/livewirein/
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