“The Tweets Must Continue To Flow,” Twitter Says Amid Standoff With India

Twitter own combat Restriction of accounts in India and the country. On Monday, the company announced its first official response since the Indian government demanded to re-lock over 250 accounts it restored in violation of the IT ministry’s decision. Among the blocked accounts were critics of Caravan, a news magazine, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“We firmly believe that open and free exchange of information is having a positive global impact and that Tweets should continue to flow,” the company said in a statement with BuzzFeed News.

Twitter’s announcement came amid a confrontation with India’s increasingly authoritarian government as millions of farmers protested agrarian reforms and shook the nation.

On Monday, News in the Indian press He said the government had tweeted the company about the protests and asked Pakistan to block some 1,200 additional accounts, which he said were run from Pakistan. One notification The Times of India also reported that an anonymous government official said he was uncomfortable with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey because India liked tweets supporting the protests. A Twitter spokesperson declined to comment.

India’s IT ministry placed an order on Twitter on January 31 prevent More than 250 accounts belonging to activists, political commentators and Caravan are displayed in the country. Twitter initially followed suit, but changed course six hours later. In response, the Indian government order The site will block accounts once again and threatened Twitter officials in India with legal consequences, including fines and up to seven years in prison.

But a week later, the accounts are still open, leaving the company’s staff in India at risk of government retaliation.

The statement made by the company said, “The safety of our employees is the most important priority for us on Twitter.” “We continue to act in a respectful position with the Government of India and reached out to the Esteemed Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology for a formal dialogue.”

Twitter’s actions put it at the center of the freedom of speech debate in a country that sees continued repression of opposition amid protests by millions of farmers who oppose agrarian reforms they say will hurt their income. For Twitter, blocking accounts once again means making this repression possible, but not restricting them has legal consequences.

“We review every report we receive from the government as quickly as possible and make sure we uphold our core values ​​and our commitment to protecting public conversation while taking appropriate action on such reports,” Twitter said. “An update is being shared with the government through our established communication channels.”

Despite the kind language, some people, including old Twitter employees saw a double meaning in the statement. During the Arab Spring in 2011, the company’s co-founder Biz Stone and former general consultant Alexander Macgillivray wrote an article explaining the company’s stance on freedom of expression. It was titled: “The Tweet Should Flow.”