Twitter pursues judicial review of Indian orders to take down content

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 US company’s attempt to get a judicial review of the orders is part of a growing confrontation with New Delhi. Twitter has been asked by Indian authorities over the past year to act on content including accounts supportive of an independent Sikh state, posts alleged to have spread misinformation about protests by farmers and over tweets critical of the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

India’s IT ministry did not immediately respond on Tuesday to a request for comment about Twitter’s legal move. The Indian government has previously said that big social media firms, including Twitter, have not complied with removal requests, despite their legal standing.

Late last month, Twitter was warned by India’s IT ministry of criminal proceedings if it did not comply with some orders. Twitter complied this week, the source said, so as not to lose liability exemptions available as a host of content.