Twitter blocks accounts at India’s request amid farmer protests: sources
- An IT ministry source said the government had directed Twitter to act against about 250 accounts and tweets which posed a ‘grave threat to public order’
- A spokesman for the farmers said their accounts ‘had not done anything wrong’ apart from supporting the long-running protests
Twitter on Monday blocked scores of accounts and tweets in India at the government’s request, including those of a prominent news magazine and farmers staging mass protests in the capital.
An IT ministry source said the government had directed the social media giant to act against about 250 Twitter accounts and tweets which posed a “grave threat to public order”.
Tens of thousands of farmers have camped on the outskirts of New Delhi for more than two months, demanding the withdrawal of new agricultural laws that they say benefit private buyers at the expense of growers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government denies this, saying the reforms open up new opportunities for farmers to sell their produce directly to private buyers.
One rally last week turned into a deadly rampage. Since then, police have detained dozens of farmers and a journalist who writes for Caravan magazine.
Caravan, some farmers activists and unions, some opposition leaders, an actor and an economist were among those whose Twitter accounts were blocked inside India.
A government official said the Home Affairs Ministry had demanded the suspension of “close to 250 Twitter accounts” that were allegedly posting content that sought to foment violence.