Indian Government's Pressure Campaign on Twitter Over 'Content Removal Request Denial'

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] The Indian government is increasing pressure on Twitter by demanding compliance with digital content moderation regulations.

According to major foreign media, Ravi Shankar Prasad, India's Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, said on the 15th (local time), "Why is Twitter hesitant to comply with local laws?" and pressured, "It is surprising that Twitter is deliberately resisting the Indian government's new IT regulations."

Earlier this month, the Indian government also warned that if Twitter does not comply with the new regulations, it "could lead to unintended consequences," increasing the pressure.

According to the digital content moderation regulations introduced by India last month, social media companies must remove related content within 36 hours upon a legal request from the Indian government and provide the identity of the original creator regarding illegal messages.

Amid concerns that these regulations could suppress freedom of expression, the Indian government publicly criticized Twitter as it showed reluctance to comply with the rules.

Recently, as anti-government sentiment formed through Twitter supporting farmers' protests and criticizing COVID-19 prevention failures, Indian authorities demanded the deletion of some messages, leading to conflicts with Twitter's resistance.

In this conflict, Indian authorities also revoked Twitter's content-related immunity privileges, meaning social media companies are no longer granted immunity from criminal liability for content posted on their platforms.

In this situation, the police of Uttar Pradesh, a northern state governed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), increased pressure on the 15th by filing cases against Twitter and journalists related to content posted on Twitter.

As conflicts with the Indian government escalate, Twitter is reportedly reconsidering its investments and business expansion in India, one of its largest growth markets.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.