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13-08-2021
Bureau Report + Agencies
NEW DELHI: The Indian National Congress said on Thursday that Twitter has locked the party’s official account, as well as, accounts of 5,000 of its leaders and workers as “selective” action for sharing a photograph of the family of a nine-year-old rape victim, reported NTDV.
The Opposition party posted on Instagram a screenshot of the Congress’ account and a message from Twitter saying that the account has been locked because it violated Twitter rules regarding publishing other people’s private information without authorization.
In the caption, the Congress party wrote, “Modi Ji, just how afraid are you? Reminder: The Congress party fought for our nation’s independence, equipped only with truth, non-violence & the will of the people.”
‘Violation’ of Twitter rules
The action against Congress accounts was after the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) sought deletion of the Twitter post by Rahul Gandhi.
Under the Juvenile Justice Act and the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act, it is illegal to disclose information that may reveal the identity of a minor.
Twitter had locked Gandhi’s account for posting photographs showing him interacting with the family of the nine-year-old Dalit girl who had been allegedly raped and killed in Delhi last week.
In response, Twitter had stated that its rules are “enforced judiciously and impartially for everyone” and the action was taken because the accounts posted an image that violated Twitter’s rules.
The company further stated that it was alerted by the NCPCR. “About specific content on our platform that allegedly revealed the identity of an alleged sexual assault victim’s (and a minor’s) parents.”
A company spokesperson explained that they reviewed the tweet in question against Twitter’s rules and policies and found it violated Twitter rules. The spokesperson added that in such a scenario, the tweet is hidden behind a notice and the account remains locked until the tweet is removed by the account owner or the appeal is successfully processed.
Twitters ‘help’ section outlines that a ‘locked’ account implies that the user will not be able to engage in tweeting, retweeting, or liking, and only followers of the account can see past tweets of the user.
Congress’ response
Congress leaders, however, have accused the BJP government of intimidating the company, stating that similar images tweeted by BJP leaders have not been penalized.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, head of the parliamentary IT panel, stated that he is actively working with Twitter to restore all accounts. He also accused BJP of trying to undermine the opposition.
Tharoor added that Twitter was acting according to policy but policies have room for review and further stated that immediately locking accounts is an “extreme” step and it stifles freedom of expression. He said that such swift actions should be taken against the perpetrators of the horrible crime and not Gandhi.
The previous week, when Congress’ account was still operational, it tweeted that Twitter had taken no action against other accounts that had tweeted the picture of the Dalit girl’s family.
