The Committee to Protect Journalists (CJP), an international organization working for the rights of journalists, has condemned the closure of accounts of various journalists and social organizations at the request of the Indian government and the blocking of access to these accounts in India.
Twitter accounts blocked in India include Pakistan’s state-run radio and the Twitter accounts of various embassies.
A statement issued by CPJ Asia on Twitter said that following the request of the Indian government, Twitter blocked access to the account of journalist Rana Ayub and blocked the account of columnist CJ Verliman on social media. Censorship is part of a new trend that is unacceptable.
The CPJ has called for an end to the trend, saying journalists’ voices are essential to democracy.
Earlier, journalist Rana Ayub shared a screenshot of the message he received from Twitter and wrote, “Hello Twitter, what is this?”
In a message sent to Rana Ayub by Twitter, it was said that in order to ensure compliance with the local laws of India, we have blocked access to this coupe in India under the Information Technology Act 2000.
Journalist Rana Ayub is a fierce critic of the policies of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also conducted an eight-month sting operation in connection with the Gujarat riots and fake encounters. This material was later published in book form under the name ‘Gujarat Files’. There are many revelations in this book regarding Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.
Earlier, Twitter blocked the account of Australian journalist and columnist CJ Verliman in India. CJ Verliman has been a vocal critic of Islamophobia and the Indian government’s mistreatment of minorities, especially Muslims.
CJ Verliman says Twitter has blocked his account in India at the request of Narendra Modi’s Hindu fascist government.
Twitter has blocked access to the accounts of not only journalists but also many human rights and civil liberties activists and organizations at the request of the Indian government.
According to the Indian WeightSite The Wire, farmers in India have also been denied access to two active accounts during the agitation against agricultural laws.
Access to the account of Kisanektamorcha, a farmers’ organization called Samyukat Kisan Morcha, has been blocked. Access to the @ tractor2twiiter account, which was very active during the farmers’ movement, was also blocked on Sunday night.
A message sent to both accounts by Twitter states that access to the account has been blocked to ensure compliance with India’s local laws.
Access to Radio Pakistan’s Twitter account blocked
On the other hand, the social media company has blocked access to Radio Pakistan’s Twitter account in India.
“Good news,” wrote Indian journalist and TV9 executive editor Aditya Rajkul. Access to the account of Pakistan’s state-run broadcaster Radio Pakistan has been blocked in India following a complaint by the Indian government.
What is meant by ‘withheld’ account?
Twitter has ‘withheld’ accounts of several journalists and social activists in India over the government’s complaint.
What is it. The question is, what would it be like to have an account withheld?
According to Twitter, local laws in many countries, including the United States and India, apply to tweets and content shared on Twitter. If an application is received from the competent authority in such countries, it is necessary to block access to such account in that particular country. Twitter therefore blocks access to the content of such accounts in the country of application or in the country where the laws have been violated.