+

After Rahul’s account, Twitter locks official handle of Cong for ‘policy violation’

Priyanka Vadra accuses the microblogging platform of ‘colluding’ with the Centre in its ‘stifling of democracy’

After blocking the official accounts of Rahul Gandhi and other senior party leaders, Twitter has now blocked the official handle of the Indian National Congress (INC) for violating rules of the microblogging site.

Lashing out at Twitter for locking accounts of several party leaders, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday accused the microblogging platform of “colluding” with the Modi government in its “stifling of democracy”.

“Is Twitter following its own policy for the suspension of Congress leaders’ accounts or the Modi government’s? Why hadn’t it locked the account of SC commission that had tweeted similar photos before any of our leaders did?” the Congress leader tweeted.

“By locking Congress leaders’ accounts en masse, Twitter is blatantly colluding with the stifling of democracy by the BJP government in India,” Priyanka said, adding that “while the BJP government in cahoots with Twitter lock down the voices that cry for justice, let’s not forget the real issue.”

Reacting to the development, Social Media Head of All India Congress Committee (AICC) Rohan Gupta said that nothing will deter the party from raising the voice of the people. He alleged that Twitter while acting under the government’s pressure, has blocked the accounts of more than 5,000 party leaders and workers across India.

Raising questions on microblogging site’s action, Gupta said, “Twitter has blocked its account for violation of rules Twitter acting under government pressure. Twitter is acting under the government’s pressure. If it is a violation of Twitter policy, then why the photo of the (Victim’s) family was there on the Scheduled Caste (SC) commission handle from August 2 to August 5.”

“On August 4, Rahul Gandhi meets the family members of the victims and raises their voice, and Twitter immediately locks his account and deletes his tweet. These are the double standards. It is acting under pressure. This will clearly tell that rather than calling it a policy violation. If it is a policy violation, then the SC commission tweet should have been deleted. Why it was there up to August 5?” he asked.

He added, “Nothing will deter us from raising voices of these people. They have already locked more than 5,000 accounts of our leaders and other workers across India. But Twitter needs to understand they can work under pressure but we can’t be pressurised into not raising the voice of people.”

The Congress on Thursday said that it will remain active on other social media platforms after the microblogging site Twitter suspended accounts of several Congress members including party secretary general K.C. Venugopal, AICC’s Ajay Maken, Loksabha MP Manickam Tagore among others.

The party in an official statement said: “Twitter India has locked the official handle of the main opposition party—Congres—an unprecedented attack on the rising voice of the people. @RahulGandhi @INCIndia. Several accounts including Randeep Singh Surjewala have also been blocked by Twitter… Twitter is closed, but other social media platforms of Congress are fully active and disseminating all necessary information and content.”

Meanwhile, clarifying its position on the blocking of accounts of the Congress and several of its leaders, Twitter on Thursday said its rules are enforced judiciously and impartially for everyone on its service. In a statement, a Twitter spokesperson said the microblogging site it will continue to take proactive action if its rules are violated.

“The Twitter Rules are enforced judiciously and impartially for everyone on our service. We have taken proactive action on several hundred Tweets that posted an image that violated our Rules and may continue to do so in line with our range of enforcement options. Certain types of private information carry higher risks than others, and our aim is always to protect individuals’ privacy and safety. We strongly encourage everyone on the service to familiarise themselves with the Twitter Rules and report anything they believe is in violation,” the spokesperson said.

Citing reason behind blocking accounts the company said it was alerted by National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) about specific content on the platform that allegedly revealed the identity of an alleged sexual assault victim’s (and a minor’s) parents.

“We reviewed it against Twitter Rules and policies, as well as the concerns expressed as a matter of the Indian law,” stated the spokesperson. “As explained in our Help Center, if a Tweet was found to be in violation of the Twitter Rules, and has yet to be deleted by the account holder, we hide it behind a notice and the account remains locked until the Tweet is removed or the appeal is successfully processed,” they added.

On 6 August, Twitter had taken down Rahul Gandhi’s tweet that revealed the identity of the relatives of a rape and murder victim in Delhi. The victim was a minor. Congress leaders had been alleging that it has been done under pressure from the Central government.

Tags:

Featured