Twitter takes action against open source accounts after a complaint by Indian government

Twitter has suspended numerous Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) accounts after a complaint was filed by the Indian government. The micro-blogging site is known for free speech and this latest suspension of accounts have raised criticism as to why the platform caved in to pressure from the Indian Government.

According to the Indian Information Technology Act 69A, the government of India can block any website or accounts as it deems fit. Twitter received the complaint and had previously informed a Texas student named Ryan Barenklau as well as others that it might be forced to take action against them if they continued posting the same content in the future. Regarding what the content was about is currently not known.

Twitter has complied to 9 requests of the Indian Government filed under the 69A rule whereas when it comes to requests from the Pakistani Government, the micro-blogging website has ignored many. At one end, Twitter has blocked 108 accounts and removed 22 tweets which were in violation of their laws. In comparison, Pakistan has sent a total of 39 account removal requests in the last whole year. While many accounts are seemingly supported because they are part of a “Pakistani disinformation wing”, Twitter has come under severe criticism to review its policies and due to public outcry, 4 accounts were restored over the weekend.

What are your thoughts regarding Twitter’s account suspensions? Do you think they should cave into the pressure from the Indian Government?