E-Paper
Twitter can suspend an account if most content unlawful: Centre to Delhi HC
This stand of the Union government is different from what it had taken in this petition in January 2020, when it had said that the issue was between the senior advocate and Twitter.
Twitter can suspend an account only if majority of the contents posted by the concerned user is unlawful, the Centre has informed Delhi high court.
Significant Social Media Intermediaries (SSMIs) are required to issue prior to the user before initiating such action for any alleged violation, it added.
“Only in cases where the majority of contents/posts/tweets in a user account are unlawful, the platform may take the extreme step of taking down the whole information or suspending the whole account,” an affidavit filed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has said. HT has seen a copy of the affidavit.
The affidavit was in response to a plea by senior advocate Sanjay Hegde challenging the suspension of his Twitter account.
“…the user needs to be given a prior notice and a transparent process of natural justice including the right to approach the grievance officer of the platform and the suitable provision for appeals so as to ensure a transparent, fair process that meets all the principles of natural justice. Any complete de-platforming is against the spirit of Article 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India that every citizen is entitled to,” the ministry added.
If an intermediary platform falls under the SSMI category, as defined in the Information Technology (IT) Rules 2021, then as per rule 4(8), it is bound to issue a prior notification to the user explaining the action being taken and the grounds or reasons for such action before suspending a user account, it said.
The Centre said action should be taken against SSMIs which do not issue any prior communication and the user can initiate proceedings against the concerned social media platform.
This stand of the Union government is different from what it had taken in this petition in January 2020, when it had said that the issue was between the senior advocate and Twitter.
It is however pertinent to note that the IT Rules, 2021, were not in force then.
