Just when we thought the news cycle would get a break from Twitter India stories, the largest opposition party has now had its account blocked, apparently for violating the platform’s rules. The Indian National Congress has taken to Facebook to share it’s contempt for the banning.
The microblogging platform recently suspended the account of ex-Indian National Congress president Rahul Gandhi for posting a picture with the family of a nine-year-old girl who was allegedly raped and murdered. India’s National Commission for Protection of Child Rights reached out to Twitter claiming that the post violated the privacy rights of a minor victim, who then suspended Gandhi’s account.
Unless the Indian National Congress official Twitter page tweeted something similar to get itself banned, this may have some more sinister implications.
Twitter-India tension remains high
“When our leaders were put in jails, we were not scared then why would we be afraid of closing our Twitter accounts now,” reads a post from the Indian National Congress’ Facebook page. “We are Congress, this is the message of the people, we will fight, we will keep fighting. If it is a crime to raise our voice to get justice for the rape victim girl, then we will do this crime a hundred times.”
Congress’ head of social media, Rohan Gupta, alleged that Twitter is bending to Bharatiya Janata party’s whim, silencing opposition. A statement from a Twitter spokesperson disputes this, claiming that the platform enforces its rules without bias.
“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,”
Source: Tech Crunch
