New Delhi, June 29

A parliamentary panel has sought Twitter’s response on the recent locking of the accounts of Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, sources said on Tuesday.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information and Technology has sent a letter to Twitter seeking its response within two days, sources said.

The panel was instructed by its chairman Tharoor to seek a reponse from Twitter on the blocking of accounts of Prasad and others on its platform, sources said.

Last week, Twitter had blocked Union Information and Technology Minister Prasad from accessing his account which ratcheted up tensions with the government as it came under renewed attack for not following local laws.

Twitter denied Prasad access to his account ‘@rsprasad’ for almost an hour on the grounds that he violated the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, but the minister said the microblogging platform violated new IT rules that require intermediary or a host of user content to give prior notice before locking access.

The IT Minister called out Twitter over the brazen arbitrariness and running its “own agenda”.

Soon after Prasad flagged the issue, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor tweeted that he too had faced something similar.

“Raviji, the same thing just happened to me. Clearly DMCA is getting hyperactive. This tweet has been deleted by @Twitter because its video includes the copyrighted BoneyM song ‘Rasputin’,” Tharoor tweeted.

Tharoor further said: “As Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology, I can state that we will be seeking an explanation from @TwitterIndia for the locking of @rsprasad’s & my accounts & the rules & procedures they follow while operating in India”.

Prasad lashed out at Twitter, and in a series of posts on rival social media platform Koo said it was apparent that his statements calling out the “high handedness and arbitrary actions” of Twitter, had ruffled feathers.

Meanwhile, Facebook and Google officials here on Tuesday deposed before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology on the issue of misuse of social media platforms.

While from Facebook its country public policy director Shivnath Thukral and general counsel Namrata Singh deposed before the panel, Google was represented by its country head (government affairs and public policy) Aman Jain and director (legal) Gitanjali Duggal. 

The agenda of the parliamentary panel meeting is to safeguard citizens’ rights and prevent the misuse of social/online news media platforms.

Earlier, Facebook representatives had informed the parliamentary panel that their company policy does not allow their officials to attend in-person meetings because of their Covid-related protocol.

But Chairman Shashi Tharoor conveyed to Facebook that its officials will have to appear in person since the parliament secretariat does not allow any virtual meetings.

The Parliamentary Committee on IT will also summon representatives of YouTube and other Social Media Intermediaries in the coming weeks over the issue.

Facebook and Google representatives were called days after Twitter officials deposed before the panel.

— PTI