New Delhi: Union Information and Technology Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has refuted Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s allegations that the Indian government pressured the micro blogging platform to block accounts related to the farmers’ protests. Chandrasekhar dismissed Dorsey’s claims as “outright lies” and an attempt to divert attention from Twitter’s questionable past. In an interview with a YouTube channel, Dorsey, who resigned from Twitter’s board last year, accused the Indian government of pressuring Twitter and threatening to shut down the company in India and raid the homes of its employees.
Chandrasekhar, however, stated that Twitter, under Dorsey’s leadership, repeatedly violated Indian laws and only started complying with them after June 2022. He clarified that no raids were conducted, no Twitter employees were sent to jail, and the platform was not shut down in the country. The actions taken against Twitter and its executives were a result of their non-compliance with government regulations.
In February 2021, the Indian government requested that Twitter take down numerous accounts critical of the government’s handling of the farmers’ protests, which had commenced in November 2020. Initially, Twitter refused to comply but eventually adhered to the government’s request.
Additionally, the Indian government had previously criticised Twitter for its incomplete compliance with the new Information Technology rules that came into effect in May 2021.
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