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| Twitter rejects India's orders to block 1,178 accounts |
The Twitter platform said it was looking forward to meeting the Indian Minister of Science and Technology. A few days later, India asked the US social media giant to remove 1,178 accounts for allegedly spreading false information about farmers' protests.
Two sources from the Ministry of Science and Technology said: New Delhi wrote to Twitter on February 4, asking it to remove accounts supported by its main rival Pakistan or run by sympathizers of separatist Sikhs, but the company has been struggling so far.
Twitter has stated that it believes that the Indian government's order to block accounts is against local law. It is not agreed to completely block some accounts, just to restrict access to India.
The social media company said in its post: While we have taken a number of measures against more than 500 accounts, including government orders including permanent bans, not all accounts will be blocked.
She added, "It is still possible to use these accounts outside India because we believe that the measures that we have imposed are inconsistent with Indian law."
The Indian Ministry of Security said: Some accounts are run abroad and they share and reinforce disinformation and provocative content about farmers' protests.
A spokesman for Twitter in India said: We will continue to work with the Government of India in prestigious places and have a formal dialogue with the esteemed Minister. Safety of employees on site is a top priority for the company.
In the past few months, thousands of farmers have set up camps on the outskirts of India's capital, New Delhi, to demand the repeal of new agricultural laws. They say the new farming laws will benefit private buyers, but farmers have paid the price.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government said the reforms had opened new opportunities for farmers.
India issued a Twitter abuse notice last week stating that the company violated another government regulation to block content suspected of the Modi government trying to remove content protesting farmers, and imposed prison terms and fines on its leaders.
Members of Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticized the incident, one of the Twitter marketplaces with the largest number of users.
A spokesperson for Twitter said: We strongly believe that sharing information openly and freely will have a positive impact on the world, and Tweets should continue to spread.