Twitter withheld dozens of accounts that have ties to the farmers’ protests that are currently happening in India. Although the platform has since reversed this move, it still raises concerns over Twitter’s power to quickly mute voices.
Twitter Temporarily Silenced Protest Supporters
After the Indian government announced new agricultural laws that may harm the livelihood of Indian farmers, farmers took to the streets to protest. Thousands of farmers have been gathered in New Delhi for months, and don’t plan on leaving until the new laws are reversed.
While the majority of this movement has been peaceful, the protests became violent on January 26, 2021. During a clash, one protestor died, and many more were injured.
Nearly one week later, Twitter quietly blocked several high-profile accounts associated with the farmers’ protests. Not only did this include Caravan, an investigative news outlet, but it also suspended the accounts of political commentator Sanjukta Basu and actor Sushant Singh. In total, around 250 accounts were withheld.
According to Tweets from Bhuvan Bagga, an AFP journalist, a government official ordered Twitter to block these accounts.
Bagga’s inside source stated that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology “directed Twitter to block around 250 Tweets/Twitter accounts which were using a hashtag and making fake, intimidatory & provocative tweets on Saturday, January 30.”
A source in India’s IT ministry @GoI_MeitY on blocked tweets/ @TwitterIndia accounts: “MeitY directed Twitter to block around 250 tweets/ Twitter accounts which were using a hashtag and making fake, intimidatory & provocative tweets on Saturday, January 30.” 1/2
— Bhuvan Bagga 吧奥文 (@Bhuvanbagga) February 1, 2021
The hashtag in reference was #modiplanningfarmersgenocide, which directly criticizes Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India.
The anonymous inside source then went on to say that “incitement to genocide is a grave threat to public order and therefore the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MEITY) ordered for blocking of these Twitter accounts and Tweets under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act.”
Twitter was harshly criticized for temporarily blocking these accounts, especially since the account owners weren’t even notified of a violation. Vinod Jose, the executive editor of the Caravan, noted that he wasn’t informed of Twitter’s decision to block the Caravan’s account.
While Twitter withheld Caravan’s official handle without informing us, you can still access the magazine from the website. Those who don’t have subscriptions, you could take one here: https://t.co/tjG4WcESWT
India needs bold fair journalism more than ever, now. https://t.co/yL6dOLdzfn
— Vinod K. Jose (@vinodjose) February 1, 2021
As shown in the Tweet above, the notification simply stated that an account was withheld in India “in response to a legal demand.” Due to severe backlash, Twitter restored all accounts shortly after it blocked them.
Did Twitter React Too Quickly?
Twitter’s decision to block hundreds of accounts at the request of the Indian government should raise some red flags. The platform’s law enforcement guidelines clearly state that governments can request to withhold certain content, but where does Twitter draw the line?
In the case of the farmers’ protests, Twitter has found itself in a tough situation—does it support freedom of speech, or should it go along with governmental orders? The quick reversal of Twitter’s decision made it clear that Twitter might’ve made a mistake.