‘Tweets Must Continue to Flow’, Twitter Responds to MEITY

Twitter has reached out to the IT Ministry, seeking clarification on the removal of 1,178 accounts.

The Indian government has asked Twitter to remove 1,178 accounts that have Pakistani and Khalistani users involved. Image used for representation. 

(Image: Shruti Mathur/The Quint)

The social media micro-blogging site Twitter has reportedly reached out to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) after the central government asked it to remove more than 1,000 accounts for allegedly spreading misinformation and provocative content in connection with the ongoing farm protests.

The US Tech giant also notified that the safety of its employees is of top priority right now. "Safety of our employees is a top priority for us at Twitter. We continue to be engaged with the Government of India from a position of respect and have reached out to the Honourable Minister, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology for a formal dialogue," a Twitter spokesperson said.

This reaction comes after Twitter received a non-compliance notice from the government after it had asked the micro-blogging site to remove some of its users with ‘Khalistani’ links.

In its latest statement, a company spokesperson asserted that tweets must continue to flow.

“We strongly believe that the open and free exchange of information has a positive global impact, and that the Tweets must continue to flow," a company spokesperson said in the statement.

“We review every report we receive from the government as expeditiously as possible, and take appropriate action regarding such reports while making sure we hold firm to our fundamental values and commitment to protecting the public conversation. An update is shared through our established channels of communication with the government," the spokesperson further added.

Earlier, Twitter blocked 257 accounts as requested by the IT Ministry for spreading misinformation amid the farmers’ protests in the National Capital Region. Following which, its users hit out at the micro-blogging site for censoring free speech, leading to Twitter ultimately unblocking these accounts.

(With Inputs from NDTV.)