After disobeying local laws, the Indian government berated Twitter India on Wednesday for its non-compliance regarding previous orders of taking down specific contents that prompted Indian lawmakers to urge their followers to switch to its native rival, Koo.
India's government has requested the social media giant to remove less than 1,100 accounts and posts that allegedly caused the widespread misinformation regarding the extensive protests by Indian farmers who contradict the latest agricultural laws.
According to Reuters, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration was riled early Wednesday after Twitter shared in a public post that it had not fully complied with the government's order because the social media giant believed that numerous takedown orders were not consistent with Indian law.
Twitter India also emphasized that they are just keeping their principles in defending protected speech and freedom of expression; that is why they have not taken any action on accounts that consist of news media entities, activists, politicians, and journalists.
In a post on rival platform Koo, the IT Ministry of India shared late on Wednesday that one of the Ministry's top officials had a phone conversation with several Twitter top executives wherein the strong displeasure of the Indian government was expressed against the actions made by Twitter.
The Indian government also stated that Twitter is free in formulating its own rules and guidelines, but Indian laws enacted by the Parliament of India must be followed regardless of the rules and guidelines imposed by Twitter, CNBC reported.
Also, the IT secretary expressed his deep disappointment regarding the manner that the company reacted.
According to the secretary, the company was not willing and only complied with some parts of the orders of the Indian government.
READ ALSO: Democrats Allegedly Cut out Trump's Calls for "Peace and Patriotism" in Impeachment Video
When asked for a comment regarding the ongoing issue and the IT ministry's meeting, Twitter India did not immediately respond to the request.
On the other hand, Twitter's defiance of the orders has placed the company and its executives in the eye of a political storm.
In the past, New Delhi has threatened legal action, resulting in fines or even imprisonment for Twitter executives responsible for implementing government directives.
The threats also came after the resignation of Twitter India's top lobbyist, Mahima Kaul, as it happened while the company was scrambling to contain a growing public relations crisis.
Meanwhile, in one of the social media giant's key markets, the opinion is split, Aljazeera reported.
Several lawyers are currently saying that Twitter must comply or challenge the order of the Indian government in court and handle it legally moving forward. At the same time, activists blame the government for utilizing legal provisions to curb freedom of speech.
The Threatening Migration to Rival application
Following the government orders, it permanently suspended over 500 accounts for engaging in platform manipulation and spam on early Wednesday.
For some, it only restricted access within India, and their tweets can still be read abroad.
