JOIN USTwitter apologises in writing for 'Ladakh in China' error
Apologising for wrongly showing Ladakh in China, Twitter has written to a Parliamentary panel promising to correct the error by month-end.
The social media giant submitted an affidavit signed by its Chief Privacy Officer Damien Karien to the Joint Committee of Parliament, which is looking into the Data Protection Bill, for the erroneous geo-tagging of India's map
Twitter's action came a fortnight after the panel headed by senior BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi came down heavily on the micro-blogging site for showing Ladakh as part of China. The panel had then said it was 'treason' while insisting that the US-based parent company, and not its Indian arm, submit an explanation in the form of an affidavit.
Earlier, appearing before the panel, Twitter India officials had "begged apology" but the MPs were not moved and reminded them that it was a criminal offence that questioned the sovereignty of the country.
"Twitter Inc has now given us a written apology on an affidavit for Ladakh being shown in China. They have apologised for hurting Indian sentiments and have sworn to correct the error by November 30," Lekhi said.
Sources said Twitter claimed that a 'software error combined with imperfect data' resulted in an incorrect geo-tag.
"In the last few weeks, we have worked towards resolving the geo-tag issue in a manner wherein Leh as well as other cities in the Union Territory of Ladakh will now accurately show with their respective city name, state and country. In addition to this, we are also reviewing the geo-tag for various other cities in Jammu and Kashmir. This work is already in progress and we are targeting November 30, 2020 to complete this exercise," Twitter is quoted as saying in its affidavit.
It said India is a priority market and committed to partnering with the Government of India and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to serve the public conversation and communities on the micro-blogging site.
Twitter also faced criticism for showing Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir while it is now part of the Union Territory of Ladakh. In its notice, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had said that showing Leh as part of Jammu and Kashmir was a deliberate attempt to undermine the will of the sovereign Parliament of India which has declared Ladakh as a Union Territory with its headquarters in Leh.
Last week, it temporarily blocked Home Minister Amit Shah's Twitter account citing copyright violations only to restore it soon, while claiming that an inadvertent error had led to it.