Time for Twitter to disabuse itself of grandiosity and comply with laws: Government to Twitter

Tensions between the Indian government and micro-blogging platform Twitter rose on Thursday, as the government issued a strongly worded statement against the company. The government accused Twitter of trying to “dictate terms” to the country. “Through its actions and deliberate defiance, Twitter seeks to undermine India’s legal system,” the government said in its statement.

“Furthermore, Twitter refuses to comply with those very regulations in the Intermediary Guidelines on the basis of which it is claiming a safe harbour protection from any criminal liability in India,” it added. Twitter had said, earlier today, that it aims to comply with India’s new IT rules, but will “advocate for changes to elements of these regulations that inhibit free, open public conversation.”

Further, the government said Twitter “needs to stop beating around the bush” and comply with the “laws of the land”. “Twitter Inc, a USA-based private company, in its communique says that it seeks ‘constructive dialogue’, ‘collaborative approach’ from the government of a sovereign democratic republic to ‘safeguard interests of the public’. It is time that Twitter disabuses itself of this grandiosity and comply with the laws of India,” the government said.

The social media firm had expressed concerns over a recent raid by the Delhi Police on its Gurugram offices earlier in the day. “Right now, we are concerned by recent events regarding our employees in India and the potential threat to freedom of expression for the people we serve. We, alongside many in civil society in India and around the world, have concerns with regards to the use of intimidation tactics by the police in response to enforcement of our global Terms of Service, as well as with core elements of the new IT Rules,” Twitter said in a statement.

“The Government also wishes to emphatically assure that representative of social media companies, including Twitter are and all always remain safe in India and there is no threat to their personal safety and security,” the government said in its statement.