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'Holding itself above laws': Tejasvi Surya on Twitter blog post
Twitter is picking and choosing what law to follow and what not to, Tejasvi Surya tweeted.
BJP leader Tejasvi Surya on Wednesday criticised Twitter's inaction on certain handles and said that the microblogging platform is holding itself above the laws of the country. "It is picking and choosing what low to follow and what not to," he said. His criticism came after Twitter on Wednesday posted a blog elaborating the actions it took against several handles after Centre had requested them. But it also mentioned its inaction on the accounts of media entities, journalists, activists, and politicians citing "violation of freedom of expression" as the reason.
The blog post escalated the ongoing tussle between the Centre and Twitter as the ministry said the statement of Twitter at a time when it sought to meet government representatives is unusual. The government had asked Twitter to block over 250 Twitter accounts accusing them of "inciting genocide". But Twitter took time to act on that and some of the accounts were restored after a brief suspension. The ministry again wrote to Twitter and warned of penal actions. Twitter, meanwhile sought to meet government representatives in this regard and provided an update in a blog on Wednesday before the meeting.
When Twitter permanently suspended Donald Trump's account, Tejasvi voiced his concern over tech giants exercising monopolies without accountability. At that time, he had also said that he doesn't want Twitter to ban anyone.
