MeitY issues notice to Twitter for disobeying ban order: Report

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) reportedly issued a notice to Twitter on Wednesday, asking the social media platform to restore the ban on 250 Indian accounts and multiple tweets.  

On January 30, under instructions from the Ministry of Home Affairs, MeitY had ordered Twitter to suspend accounts that posted content with the hashtag #ModiPlanningFarmerGenocide, under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act. 

The accounts included those of The Caravan, deceased actor Sushant Singh Rajput, Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati, and farmer protest-related accounts Tractor2Twitr and Kisan Ekta Morcha.  

Although the Jack Dorsey-run platform initially complied with the order, it had unblocked the accounts on February 2. 

“Failure on Twitter’s part to block these accounts will invite penal action,” wire agency ANI reported, citing sources. MeitY’s Wednesday notice, it said, states that Twitter is an internet intermediary, bound by the central government, and is hence obliged to comply. 

Email queries sent to MeitY, seeking comments on the notice issued, as well as subsequent action, remained unanswered at the time of publishing the article. A Twitter spokesperson told TechCircle that the company had no comment to offer at the moment.