Twitter Files Judicial Review To Overturn Indian Government Rules To Remove Certain Content

Twitter clashes with Indian government over new rules. (photo; doc. pixabay)

JAKARTA - Twitter on Tuesday, July 5, asked Indian courts to overturn some of the government's new rules requiring social media platforms to remove content it deems problematic. Twitter objected because it is very possible abuse of power by officials through the new rules.

The US social media company's efforts to get a reconsideration of the order are part of a growing confrontation with New Delhi.

Over the past year, Twitter has been asked by Indian authorities to crack down on problematic content, including accounts that support the independence of the Sikh state. Likewise, posts allegedly spreading misinformation about protests by farmers and tweets deemed critical of the government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, India's IT Ministry did not want to comment on Twitter's legal steps last Tuesday.

The Indian government has previously issued a rule that major social media companies, including Twitter, have not complied with the content removal request, regardless of their legal standing.

Late last month, Twitter was warned by India's IT ministry of criminal proceedings for not complying with some of their orders. According to a source, Twitter finally complied with that request this week, so as not to lose the exemption of liability available as a content host.

In a lawsuit to the high court in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, Twitter argued that some of the content removal orders did not meet the procedural requirements of India's IT law, without specifying which rules it wanted to review.

According to a Reuters report, the IT Act allows the government to block public access to content in the interest of national security.

Twitter, which the market research firm says has nearly 24 million users in India, also argued in its lawsuit that some orders failed to provide notification to content writers.

It said that some related to political content posted by the official accounts of political parties, blocking the account was considered a violation of free speech.

Twitter's tensions with the Indian government flared early last year when Twitter refused to fully comply with orders to remove accounts and posts that New Delhi said spread misinformation about anti-government protests by farmers.

The company has also been the target of a police investigation in India. Even last year many Indian ministers moved to the domestically developed social media platform, Koo. They also accused Twitter of not complying with local laws.

Twitter has also faced strong backlash in India for blocking accounts of influential individuals, including politicians, citing violations of its policies.

The Indian government, according to the industry transparency report having the highest government requests for content removal, is considering several amendments to its new IT rules. This includes the creation of a local government-administered appeals panel with the power to overturn content moderation decisions from social media companies.

New Delhi says such action is necessary as Twitter is deemed to have violated the constitutional rights of Indians.