TWITTER BLOCKS ACCOUNTS LINKED TO INDIA FARMERS PROTESTS ON GOV’T ORDER

Tue 02 February 2021:

Twitter blocked dozens of accounts in India on Monday, including that of a leading newsmagazine,at the Hindu nationalist government’s request.

An Information Technology ministry source told the AFP news agency the government had directed the social media giant to act against about 250 Twitter accounts and tweets that posed a “grave threat to public order”.

The move by the social media giant came in the wake of protests by Indian farmers that took a violent turn last week. Since then, police have detained dozens of farmers and a journalist who writes for Caravan magazine.

The magazine, some farmer activists and unions, some opposition leaders, an actor and an economist were among those whose Twitter accounts were blocked in India.

Vinod Jose, editorial director of The Caravan magazine, whose official Twitter account had a following of more than 280,000 and had tweeted reporting on the farmers’ protests, was also blocked along with the accounts of many farm leaders and protest supporters.

Jose told Reuters that Caravan had received no word from Twitter on the account suspension. “This is akin to censorship. Twitter’s act follows multiple cases of sedition filed against Caravan editors for covering the farmers protests,” he said.

The suspended accounts include popular reports by agitating farmers keen to build public momentum for their campaign.

Tens of thousands of farmers have camped on the outskirts of New Delhi for more than two months, demanding the withdrawal of new agricultural laws that they say benefit private buyers at the expense of growers.

The accounts were blocked on Monday afternoon but were accessible again hours later.

A Twitter spokeswoman said “it may be necessary to withhold access to certain content in a particular country from time to time” if “a properly scoped” request is made.

A spokesman for the farmers said their accounts “had not done anything wrong” apart from supporting the long-running protests.

A government official said the Home Affairs Ministry had demanded the suspension of “close to 250 Twitter accounts” that were allegedly posting content that sought to foment violence.

“The order was issued against accounts that were using the hashtag #modiplanningfarmersgenocide that started on Jan. 30,” the government source said.