Twitter on Monday (February 1) 'withheld' multiple accounts on the microblogging website, linked mostly to sociopolitical activists, journalists, and similar platforms, in response to 'legal demands'.
Several accounts, including those linked with the ongoing farmers' protest at Delhi borders against the new contentious central farm laws have also been withheld in response to 'legal demands', Twitter's disclaimer reads.
Among the accounts withheld by Twitter in India are 'The Caravan', the Kisan Ekta Morcha, activist Hansraj Meena, and even Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Jarnail Singh.
Netizens took to Twitter on this day to lodge a protest against the accounts being withheld by the tech giant today. A non-exhaustive list of the Twitter accounts withheld so far would be:
• 'The Caravan' - @thecaravanindia
• Kisan Ekta Morcha - @Kisanektamorcha
• AAP MLA Jarnail Singh - @JarnailSinghAAP
• Television personality Sushant Singh - @sushant_says
• Activist Hansraj Meena - @HansrajMeena
• CPI(M) leader Md Salim - @salimdotcomrade
• Journalist Sanjukta Basu - @sanjukta
• BKU Ekta Urgahan - @Bkuektaugrahan
Besides these, several other individual and organisational accounts, including that of the media outlet, were also withheld, even as debates started on social media over the development, as pointed out by Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair in this neat thread on Twitter.
However, the "legal demand" isn't known yet but it is pertinent to mention that the Delhi Police have registered an FIR against 'The Caravan' magazine for allegedly spreading false information that a farmer died in police firing at the ITO intersection on January 26 after the proposed tractor rally by the protesting farmers turned violent in the national capital on Republic Day.
On 26 January, 'The Caravan' had put out a tweet citing an eyewitness, saying the farmer was shot by the police.
Over 250 accounts 'directed' to be blocked
Officials of the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said that Twitter has been asked to block over 250 accounts or tweets that were tweeting using a specific hashtag.
The MEITY (IT Ministry) has blocked around 250 Tweets or Twitter accounts which were using #ModiPlanningFarmerGenocide hashtag and making fake, intimidatory and provocative Tweets on Saturday that was January 30, reports stated, citing officials.
According to reports, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and law enforcement agencies had directed the IT Ministry to take relevant action in view of the social media agitation in solidarity with the farmers' protests.
However, it is to noted that among the blocked accounts, there are also some that were not using that specific hashtag.
The development comes in the wake of violence in Delhi on Republic Day on January 26 during a tractor parade of farmers protesting the new agriculture laws which resulted in the death of one person and injuries to over a hundred people, including police personnel.
The Delhi Police is currently probing the Republic Day violence wherein it has lodged multiple FIRs and booked, among others, several farmer leaders leading the protests at the national capital's borders since November-end.
Why might a Twitter account be withheld?
"If you see the above message, it means Twitter was compelled to withhold the entire account specified (e.g., @username) in response to a valid legal demand, such as a court order," reads Twitter's policies.