New Delhi: According to reports on the latest filing in lawyer Sanjay Hedge’s Twitter account suspension, the centre has reversed its stance hitting Twitter.Inc and Meta Platforms Inc. for suspending accounts that violate the social media giant’s community guidelines.
As per a court filing in the lawyers’ case, the Ministry of Information and technology says Twitter’s decision to suspend the account violates the Indian constitution and free speech rights. The statement comes after a month, where the centre had said Meta and Twitter must follow Indian laws that require the firms to give users a reasonable chance to defend themselves before a post is deleted or the account is suspended. It cited matters of rape threats and terrorism as exceptions, people in the know said.
Notably, the government’s current stance contrasts with a 2019 filing when it said the matter was for Hedge and Twitter to resolve. Twitter declined to comment while FB and the Meity did not respond.
The two social media giants have been reportedly at odds with the Indian government’s push to regulate them under the information technology rules 2021. In a court case last year, the microblogging site agreed to comply with the norms while Meta challenged the norms demanding the law to force Whats app to break its encrytption.