Twitter is seeking to overturn some Indian government orders to take down content on the social media platform, a source familiar with the matter said, in a legal challenge which alleges abuse of power by officials.
The U.S. company’s attempt to get a judicial review is partof a growing confrontation with New Delhi. Twitter has been asked by Indian authorities over the past year to act on content including accounts supportive of an independent Sikh state, posts alleged to have spreadmisinformation about protests by farmers and over tweets critical of the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
India’s IT ministry did not immediately respond on Tuesdayto a request for comment about Twitter’s legal move. The Indian government has previously said that big social media firms, including Twitter, have not complied with removal requests, despite their legal standing.
Late last month, Twitter was warned by India’s IT ministryof criminal proceedings if it did not comply with some orders.Twitter complied this week, the source said, so as not to loseliability exemptions available as a host of content.
Twitter argues in its request for a judicial review thatsome removal orders fell short of the procedural requirements ofIndia’s IT Act, the source said, without specifying which onesTwitter wanted to be reviewed. The IT act allows the government to block public access to content in the interest of national security, among otherreasons.
Twitter, which market research firms say has nearly 24 million users in India, also argues in its filing that some of the orders failed to give notice to the authors of the content.
It also says that some were related to political content posted by official handles of political parties, the blocking of which amount to a violation of freedom of speech, the source added.
Tensions with the Indian government flared early last yearwhen Twitter declined to fully comply with an order to take downaccounts and posts which New Delhi alleged were spreadingmisinformation about anti-government protests by farmers.
The company has also been subject to police investigationsin India and last year, many Indian government ministers moved todomestically developed platform Koo, accusing Twitter ofnon-compliance with local laws.
Twitter has also faced a backlash in India for blockingaccounts of influential individuals, including politicians,citing violations of its policies.
India, which industry transparency reports show has amongthe highest government requests for content takedowns isconsidering some amendments to its new IT rules, including theintroduction of a government-run appeals panel with the power toreverse the content moderation decisions of social media firms.
New Delhi has said such measures were needed because thecompanies had violated Indians’ constitutional rights.
