Twitter pursues judicial review of Indian content takedown orders

NEW DELHI: Twitter on Tuesday asked an Indian court to overturn some government orders to remove content from the social media platform, a source familiar with the matter said, in a legal challenge which alleges abuse of power by officials.

The report quoted a "source familiar with the matter" and said the "judicial review" is part of a "growing confrontation" with India over content regulation. Twitter has often taken down content in India after being asked to do so by the Indian government. In June, tweets from a US-based human rights watchdog on declining internet freedom were taken down in India. During the second wave of Covid last April, Twitter censored 52 tweets on the government's request. While the government claimed the tweets were spreading "fake news", most of the tweets had been critical of the government's handling of the pandemic.

In June 2021, the government had moved legally to take action against the Twitter account of cartoonist Manjul, though it did not specify which of his tweets violated the law. During the farmer protests, Twitter also blocked multiple tweets and handles in response to an order issued by the central government. Approximately 257 Twitter handles were asked to be deactivated.