Centre vs Twitter: All you need to know about the rift

The Centre has taken to homegrown Twitter-like app Koo to send messages to the microblogging site in this tussle

Amid the ongoing farmers' protests against the Centre's three farm laws, the government and Twitter have been engaged in a tussle about the 'freedom of expression' on the microblogging site. This has also brought into light India's alternative for Twitter, the Koo app, with prominent Union Ministers joining it to send messages to Twitter.

Here is all you need to know about the rift:

1. Following the unrest in New Delhi after the farmers' tractor rally on Republic Day, Twitter had suspended 550 accounts flagged by the government, most of them belonging to Khalistan supporters. It had also taken down handles of some news organisations like Caravan India.

2. A hashtag #ModiPlanningFarmerGenocide emerged on Twitter. The government asked the website to take it down and suspend accounts using it. But Twitter later restored the handles citing "insufficient justification" to continue the suspensions.

Read | Comply with laws in India, take strong action against campaigns aimed at creating unrest: Govt to Twitter

3. The Centre issued a notice to Twitter for unilaterally reinstating some accounts despite government orders. It also threatened penal action against the website if it did not comply.

The government said Twitter "cannot sit as an appellate authority".

4. On February 8, the government issued a fresh notice to Twitter directing it to block 1,178 accounts linked to farmers' protest, saying that these were Khalistani supporters and backed by Pakistan. The Centre reiterated that Twitter was refusing to follow the government's repeated orders.

5. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) were upset with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey as he liked some tweets in support of Rihanna when she tweeted about the farmers' protests.

6. Twitter said that it is seeking a formal dialogue with the government over their issues. Admitting that it has received a notice from the government, a Twitter spokesperson said, "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."

7. Twitter has so far deactivated around 700 handles from the ones the Centre had asked it to block. Twitter took a range of enforcement actions — including permanent suspension in certain cases — against more than 500 accounts escalated across all MeitY orders for clear violations of Twitter’s rules.

8. Twitter on Wednesday said it withheld some of the accounts flagged by the Indian government for blocking "within India only", but has not blocked handles of civil society activists, politicians and media as "it would violate their fundamental right to free expression" guaranteed under country's law. Seeking to clarify its stance, Twitter - in a blog post - said it had taken steps to reduce the visibility of the hashtags containing harmful content.

Also Read | Tussle between Centre and Twitter continues

9. Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad turned down the microblogging platform’s request for a meeting with him on February 10. Twitter India officials had tried to reach out to Prasad for a dialogue, but his office directed them to MeitY officials. Now, MeitY Secretary Ajay Prakash Sawhney is likely to lead the talks. The ministry chose the Indian Twitter-like platform Koo to respond to this.

10. Ministry of Electronics & IT Secretary Ajay Sawhney on Wednesday asked Twitter to follow India's laws irrespective of its own rules, expressing "strong displeasure" over Twitter's delay in taking prompt action against accounts and hashtags spreading misinformation and provocative content around the farmers' stir. The Secretary held a virtual interaction with Twitter officials on Thursday night.