Twitter India has blocked the official handle of the Congress and the accounts of three more party leaders, Randeep Surjewala, Ajay Maken, Lok Sabha MP Manickam Tagore and Sushmita Dev for violating its policy.
The move comes just days after it had blocked former Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s account.
Last week, Twitter removed a tweet and blocked Mr. Gandhi’s account after he posted photos of his meeting with the parents of a nine-year girl who was raped and murdered.
Under Indian law, sharing of photos of a victim or her relatives are barred.
However, the principal Opposition party had targeted Twitter for adopting “double standards” since functionaries of the National Commission for Schedule Castes had shared similar photos with rhe parents of the victims but no action was taken against them.
The Congress alleged that Twitter India was acting under the threat of the Narendra Modi government and stifling the Opposition’s freedom of expression.
“The perception of double standards makes matters worse. When a BJP national spokesman posted a picture of the Hathras rape victim (violating Section 228A of the Indian Penal Code) @Twitter did not lock his account. SC Commission posted a pic of the victim’s family 2 Aug; no action,” Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said on Twitter.
The Congress leader said that he “understood” Twitter’s position about automatically blocking accounts that violated the law and their policy, and added that Twitter could review its policy as Mr. Gandhi’s action was a “technical violation of the law”.
“Action taken against a prominent Opposition leader raises obvious concerns of selectivity&bias. I urge @Twitter to restore @RahulGandhi’s account, review the policy of automatic suspensions & show more sensitivity to public concerns. Focus on what happened to the girl, not a pic!” said Mr. Tharoor.
“Twitter blocked my account as well since I supported Rahul ji fight against atrocities on women. Soon, there will be real good days and Twitter won’t have to be scared. This is my prediction,” Mr. Maken said in response to his account being blocked.
Twitter’s response
Replying to a query on the blocking of the accounts of the Congress and some of its leaders, a Twitter spokesperson said the ‘Twitter Rules’ are enforced judiciously and impartially for everyone on its service.
According to the company, they were alerted by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights about specific content on the platform that allegedly revealed the identity of an alleged sexual assault victim’s (and a minor’s) parents. This was reviewed against its Rules and policies, as well as the concerns expressed as a matter of the Indian law.
“We have taken proactive action on several hundred Tweets that posted an image that violated our Rules, and may continue to do so in line with our range of enforcement options. Certain types of private information carry higher risks than others, and our aim is always to protect individuals’ privacy and safety,” the spokesperson said, adding that the platform strongly encouraged everyone on the service to familiarise themselves with the Twitter Rules and report anything they believed was in violation.
When a tweet is found to be in violation of Twitter Rules, and has yet to be deleted by the account holder, it is hidden behind a notice and the account remains locked until the tweet is removed or the appeal is successfully processed.