NCW asks Twitter to remove all pornographic, obscene content within a week

The National Commission for Women (NCW) has asked the Managing Director of Twitter India to remove all pornographic and obscene content from the platform within a week. NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma has also written to the Commissioner of Police, Delhi seeking a probe into the matter and appropriate legal action.

“The NCW has taken suo motu cognisance of several profiles on Twitter sharing pornographic content. Chairperson Rekha Sharma has written to Managing Director, Twitter India for immediately removing all such pornographic and obscene content from the platform within a week,” the women’s panel said in a statement, PTI reported.

NCW said it had received a similar complaint earlier after which it brought the matter to Twitter’s attention, but no action was taken.

“The commission has shared with Twitter details of a few profiles sharing pornographic content on Twitter and has directed to remove all such content within one week. The platform has also been asked to communicate action taken within 10 days,” it added.

The panel further said it was disturbed with the fact that despite knowing about the availability of content that not only violates Indian laws but also Twitter’s own policy, no action was taken by the social media firm.

Speaking about the case, a Twitter spokesperson told ANI, “Twitter has a zero-tolerance policy for Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE). We will continue to invest in proactive detection & removal of content that violates Twitter rules and work with law enforcement and NGO partners in India to tackle the issue.”

Earlier, following a complaint by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), the Delhi Police on Tuesday sent a notice to Twitter, seeking details of the steps taken by it against the circulation of child pornographic content on its platform.

The Delhi Police, which has also registered an FIR against Twitter in connection with the matter, has also sought details of the accounts circulating such material.

The developments come in the backdrop of the backlash the microblogging site has been facing from the government.

Police in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district lodged an FIR against Twitter India MD Manish Maheshwari and another company official on Tuesday after a map on the platform’s website showed the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh as lying outside the borders of India. Twitter later removed the map after outrage on social media.

Moreover, the parliamentary standing committee on IT has sought an explanation from Twitter on the blocking of the accounts of Union Information and Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and committee chairman Shashi Tharoor.

Senior government officials on Monday said the Centre has concluded that Twitter in India is no longer an “intermediary” and, therefore, cannot be provided the legal protection that is accorded to Internet intermediaries under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act.

(WIth inputs from PTI and ANI)