Govt of India castigates Twitter for suspending accounts in arbitrary manner, files affidavit in court saying platforms have to be accountable

Responding to a petition filed by a Twitter user over arbitrary suspension of the account, the Government of India submitted before the Delhi High Court that it has always stood in defending the rights of social media users who have often complained of high-handed and arbitrary decisions by platforms like Twitter and Facebook.

In an ongoing case in Delhi High Court, the government has filed an affidavit where they have reiterated that social media platforms have to give a fair chance to users, and they cannot be suspending their accounts on flimsy grounds. The case pertains to a case filed by Twitter users – Megh Bulletin and Wokeflix, whose accounts have been suspended by Twitter without providing any reason.

On February 23, 2022, the micro-blogging site Twitter had arbitrarily suspended popular right-wing nationalist Twitter accounts over alleged ‘violations’ of Twitter policies. Popular news and current affair handle – ‘Megh Bulletin’, a popular fact-checking Twitter account – Befitting Facts, another satirical account- ‘The Skin Doctor’ were all suspended over alleged violations by Twitter.

Similarly, the political satire account of Wokeflix, which says it is the vaccine for Woke’ism or Woke culture, was removed from the platform.

The micro-blogging site had not specified the list of violations these popular right-wing nationalist accounts may have committed to face suspension.

Following their suspension, the nationalist social media handles had moved a petition against Twitter against the arbitrary ban. In response, the Delhi High Court had issued notice to both the micro-blogging site and the centre.

In response to the notice, the Government of India said it is committed to upholding the rights of every citizen of the country under Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India.

“It is submitted that the rights of the users on these platforms are to be safeguarded under Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India and the platforms discharging public functions would be duty-bound to ensure that there is no infringement of such rights of the citizens,” the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) said in its response.

In response to the petition filed by the Twitter account ‘Megh Bulletin’, the centre noted that the accounts were suspended by Twitter without affording an opportunity of hearing to the Petitioner in any way and added there is no provision under which information can be edited or modified before transmission suo-motu by intermediaries like Twitter.

In other words, there is no sanction for suspending accounts arbitrarily under the Information Technology Act and the latest Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 made thereunder, the MEITY said, adding that it is the custodian of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act, 2000). The Ministry said it has always maintained the rule of law and performed its lawful obligations as mandated under the IT Act, 2000.

“It is submitted that the internet is growing rapidly and has seen the emergence of new categories of intermediaries. Anyone can upload any information at any time and from anywhere in the world, and the same is accessible to everyone instantly. In some scenarios, the information is perceived to be unlawful or harmful in some ways,” the centre noted in its response.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said that the approach to the framing of legislation and rules are founded on the following principles. First, the internet should be open, safe and trusted. Secondly, the platforms to be accountable to the users; and finally, no platform or intermediary will be allowed to infringe upon the citizen’s rights, including but not limited to Articles 14, 19 and 21 guaranteed under the Constitution of India under the guise of violation of the platform’s policies unless it constitutes a violation of extant law in force.

Earlier in the day, after hearing a bunch of pleas filed by Twitter users like Wokeflix, Dimple Kaul on behalf of “@Bharadwajspeaks”, and others challenging the suspension of their user handles by Twitter Inc, the Delhi High Court warned told the social media giant, saying it is high time the social media companies like Twitter “woke up”.

“It is high time that you wake up”, remarked Justice Yashwant Varma while replying to the argument made by Twitter on the maintainability of the writ petitions filed by the users.

This strong response against the arbitrary action by big techs comes just weeks after Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, had asserted that there cannot be any free run for these social media technologies to violate the law of the land and enforce their own decisions.

Speaking to the media, Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar said there is a need to rethink local laws to de-risk the Indian internet and make it harder for Big Tech businesses to be weaponised in any circumstance. This remark comes in the wake of big tech companies and their subsidiaries declaring partial or complete service interruptions for Russia and its people soon after the war between Russia and Ukraine began.

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