In an interview with the YouTube news show Breaking Points, Dorsey stated that Twitter was threatened with shutdowns in India, Nigeria, and Turkey if it did not comply with orders to restrict certain accounts. According to Dorsey, India sought to curb the use of Twitter by journalists and protesters critical of the government. He claimed that the Indian government made statements like "we will shut Twitter down in India" and "we would raid the homes of your employees," and even threatened to close down Twitter offices.
Dismissing Dorsey's allegations as an "outright lie," Minister Chandrasekhar accused Twitter of not accepting the sovereignty of Indian law. He stated that Twitter had violated Indian law multiple times between 2020 and 2022 but only began complying in 2022. Chandrasekhar emphasized that no one was arrested or raided during that period, contradicting Dorsey's claims.
Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Youth Affairs & Sports, Anurag Thakur, also criticized Dorsey's statements, calling them blatant lies. Thakur suggested that Dorsey was attempting to cover up his own misdeeds. He referenced the "Twitter Files," which exposed the misuse of the platform, and stated that Dorsey has yet to provide satisfactory answers.
The Congress party responded to Dorsey's allegations by accusing the government of suppressing social media and journalists. Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate demanded answers from the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government, claiming that targeting institutions is evidence of the weakening of democracy in the country. Shrinate alleged that opposition voices are regularly suppressed by the government.
The controversy surrounding Twitter's alleged non-compliance with Indian law during the farmers' protest continues to be a subject of debate, with government officials and opposition parties expressing differing viewpoints on the matter.
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