Twitter warns global users their tweets violate Pakistani law

WASHINGTON: When Canadian columnist Anthony Furey received an email said to be from Twitter’s legal team telling him he may have broken a slew of Pakistani laws, his first instinct was to dismiss it as spam.

But after Googling the relevant sections of Pakistan’s Penal Code, the Toronto Sun op-ed editor was startled to learn he stood accused of insulting the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) --- a crime punishable by death in Pakistan --- and Twitter later confirmed the correspondence was genuine.

Furey and two prominent critics of extremism in Islam say they are "shocked" to have received notices by the social media giant this past week over alleged violations of Islamabad’s laws, despite having no apparent connection to the South Asian country.

They say the notices amount to an effort to stifle their voices — a charge Twitter denies, arguing the notices came about as a result of “valid requests from an authorized entity,” understood to mean Pakistan, helped users “to take measures to protect their interests,” and the process is not unique to any one country. But Furey is the third prominent user in the space of days to publicly complain about receiving a message linked to Pakistan.

The other two are Saudi-Canadian activist Ensaf Haidar and Imam Mohammad Tawhidi, a progressive Muslim scholar from Australia who was born in Iran. Both are outspoken critics of religious extremism and have accused the social media giant of helping to silence progressive ideas within Islam.

Reached for comment, a spokesperson for Twitter told AFP: “In our continuing effort to make our services available to people everywhere, if we receive a valid request from an authorized entity, it may be necessary to withhold access to certain content in a particular country from time to time.” The spokesperson added: “We notify users so that they have the opportunity to review the legal request, and the option to take measures to protect their interests.”