February 23, 2024 at 12:44AM
The government affairs team at X, formerly Twitter, has suspended accounts and posts in India after receiving executive orders, facing penalties. They disagree with the actions, appealing and notifying impacted users. India’s government ordered these suspensions in relation to ongoing farmers’ protests. This has raised concerns about internet shutdowns and social media bans curtailing communication and suppressing dissent.
Based on the meeting notes, the key takeaways are:
– The global government affairs team at X (formerly Twitter) has suspended accounts and posts in India after receiving executive orders from the government.
– The orders were backed by threat of penalties including significant fines and imprisonment.
– The team disclosed the actions, expressing disagreement and maintaining that freedom of expression should extend to the posts.
– India’s Ministry of Electronics and IT ordered social media platforms to temporarily block 177 accounts linked to ongoing farmers’ protests to maintain public order.
– The targeted accounts included politicians, prominent figures in the Unionist Sikh Mission, and accounts related to India’s farming movement.
– India has a significant number of government-imposed internet shutdowns, with a non-profit organization rating the country as having the highest number of shutdowns from 2018 to 2022.
– The government justifies some shutdowns on the grounds of preventing potentially dangerous events from being organized and protecting protestors and citizens.
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