Centre vs Twitter: Ravi Shankar Prasad warns against 'misuse', says displaying ‘double standards’
Be it Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or WhatsApp, action will be taken if these platforms are misused," the minister said replying to a host of questions in Parliament.
FollowAmid Centre's ongoing face-off with Twitter, in a veiled attack, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad slammed the "micro-blogging platform" for displaying "double standards" in their handling of the farmers' protests.
Be it Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or WhatsApp, action will be taken if these platforms are misused," the minister said replying to a host of questions in Parliament.
"Work in India. You have crores of followers here. We respect that. Make money but you will have to abide by Indian laws and the Constitution," the minister said.
"We have now flagged Twitter. Our department has engaged with Twitter. That's why I didn't want to comment on this issue outside and chose the House to raise these questions. What is the matter that when there is violence in US Capitol Hill, social media platforms stand by police investigation but when Red Fort is breached, the same platforms go against the Indian government? Red Fort is the symbol of our pride. We won't allow these double standards," the minister said.
"What is this? You are trending hashtags supporting massacre, genocide?" the minister said.
"We respect social media a lot. It has empowered common people. Social media has a big role in the Digital India programme. However, if social media is misused to spread fake news, violence then action will be taken," the minister said.
His statement came a day after the government expressed "strong displeasure" over Twitter's delay in taking prompt action against accounts and hashtags spreading misinformation and provocative content around the farmers' stir.
The IT Ministry on Wednesday made it clear that the company must comply with the country's laws irrespective of the platform's own rules.
Twitter has suspended over 500 accounts, and blocked access to several others within India while refusing to block accounts of "news media entities, journalists, activists and politicians" citing the need to uphold freedom of expression.
