Twitter faces backlash in India after suspending accounts at request of government

Violent clashes between protesting farmers and the police erupted in New Delhi on January 26

Credit: Adnan Abidi/Reuters

Twitter is facing a freedom of speech backlash in India after it suspended the accounts of 250 users on Monday at the request of the Indian government, which had alleged they had sent “provocative tweets”.

A legal order had been made by India’s Ministry of Electronics and IT, which claims the accounts had committed “incitement to genocide” by using the hashtag “ModiPlanningFarmerGenocide.”

On January 26, protesting farmers and the police had clashed in New Delhi over proposed agriculture bills which farmers argue will decimate their profits, the violence resulting in the death of one farmer.

Among the accounts suspended were the independent, investigative news site Caravan India, the chief executive of the state-run broadcaster Prasar Bharti, Shashi Shekhar Vempati and political commentator Sanjukta Basu.

Throughout Monday, Indians took to Twitter to demand the accounts were restored, arguing the social media platform was curtailing freedom of speech.

“Journalists, activists charged with sedition for reporting on the farmers’ protest, their Twitter accounts suspended, the world cannot afford to ignore this dictatorship,” tweeted activist Rana Ayyub.

India's beleaguered farmers say the new laws will squeeze their profits further

Credit: Manish Swarup/AP

On Monday evening, after 12 hours and amidst growing public pressure, Twitter restored the suspended accounts. In a statement, the social media platform said the suspensions were routine: “If we receive a properly scoped request from an authorised entity, it might be necessary to withhold access to certain content in a particular country from time to time.”

The social media platform said its investigation found the accounts had not broken its free speech guidelines and it had met with the Indian Government to relay this information.

For many Indian Twitter users, the reinstatement of the accounts was not enough and they advocated for the platform to change its policy.

“Since @TwitterIndia reversed its biased action of withholding accounts, is there going to be an explanation? Is anyone going to be held accountable? You can’t switch the users off at your will just because you can — that’s authoritarian,” tweeted Gaurav Pandhi, National Coordinator at India’s opposition Congress Party.

Activists claim the suspensions come amidst an ongoing crackdown against freedom of speech in India, with charges also filed against nine journalists and a senior Congress Party politician, Shashi Tharoor, for tweeting the protester who died on January 26 was shot.

The Indian police deny the allegations and say he died after his tractor overturned.