Congress party prince Rahul Gandhi was locked out of Twitter recently after posting the identity of a rape victim. After the Congress party created a ruckus over the suspension of its scion’s account, Twitter released a statement making it clear that the social media platform locks an account if a tweet “violates” or poses “safety and security threat” to any individual. And in this case, Rahul’s tweet blatantly violated the guidelines.
Twitter said in its statement, “Our aim is to protect individuals from coming to physical harm as a result of their information being shared on Twitter and certain types of private information carry higher risks than others, and can pose serious safety and security threats. Information shared by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights in their legal request submitted via the India Grievance Channel citing specific provisions of the POCSO Act, provided context and was taken into account for the assessment.”
The social media platform also said that several tweets with the same image were also taken down. “We have also taken action on several other tweets that posted the same image and will continue to do so if the content is shared.”
As reported by TFI, the tweet that showed a picture of Rahul Gandhi meeting the family members of the minor girl showed as ‘no longer available’ on the microblogging website for violating its rules. A click on the tweet led to a message that read: “This tweet violated the Twitter rules.”
“Parents’ tears are saying only one thing — their daughter, the daughter of this country, deserves justice. And I am with them on this path to justice.” Gandhi had tweeted in Hindi last Wednesday whilst posting a picture of his meeting with the minor’s family.
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) Chief Priyank Kanoongo had taken cognisance of Rahul’s tweet and had pressed Twitter to take suitable action, even after deleting the tweet.
While the action is laudable, it is still being done to win favour over newly appointed Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, who is taking no prisoners when it comes to dealing with the social media giant.
Barely a month after he was inducted to the cabinet, Twitter after dillydallying for months, folded and submitted to the revised IT laws of the country.
The social media firm, in its affidavit to the High Court, stated it had appointed a permanent Resident Grievance Officer (RGO), Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) and Nodal Contact officer (NCO) on August 4 in compliance with the rules.
The affidavit read, “Twitter Inc initially hired Vinay Prakash through a third party contractor… the initial appointment was done this way to expedite it because Twitter Inc did not have a corporate presence in India. The appointment was considered contingent because Twitter Inc is expected to convert the position to a full-time employee as soon as practicable. Twitter Inc has since converted Prakash to a full-time employee effective August 4, 2021.”
Fresh into the office, Ashwini Vaishnaw had shot off a warning for Twitter. The new minister immediately after his oath has remarked that the law of the land is supreme, and Twitter will have to fall in line with the new social media and intermediary guidelines.
“Whoever is a citizen of India and those who stay in India will have to abide by the laws of the country.” he had said.
Read More: New IT Minister AshwiniVaishnaw has his job cut out— kick Twitter first. Everything else next
Twitter is no longer granted an intermediary status in India. As such, it is liable to be prosecuted under relevant sections of the law for any hateful and illegal content posted on its platform. If it hadn’t taken action on Rahul Gandhi, another bout of court cases could have been pressed on the company which is already reeling under a plethora of judicial proceedings. Hence, to win over the government and its hard taskmaster minister, Twitter is going after the Congress leader to prove its allegiance.