As Twitter on Thursday requested the IT Ministry to consider a minimum of three-month extension to implement the new guidelines, several netizens rallied against the micro-blogging site.
After the platform issued a statement, many users called out Twitter for behaving like a decision-maker.
“It’s not about Free Speech’. It’s about Twitter acting as decision maker about the political issues in India,” a user wrote on the platform, replying to another user who mentioned that Twitter plans to advocate for changes to elements of IT rules that inhibit Free Speech.
“Twitter can’t label a document as ‘Manipulated Media’ as per its convenience,” it added.
The Twitter statement said that it is concerned about recent events regarding its employees in India and the potential threat to the freedom of expression of its users.
On this, a user wrote: “Stop your business in India, we don’t need your version of freedom of expression…”
“You are not bigger than the laws of Bharat. Everyone knows what you did with Trump. This is not going to happen in Bharat. You want to stay in Bharat then obey the rules, otherwise just pack your bags,” another user wrote.
Several users also extended their support to the platform by saying that the platform is fighting for the freedom of speech of its users.
“While everyone else has started prostrating, Twitter stands fighting the cause of Transparency and Empowering the Freedom of Expression which is so very vital for the furtherance of Information as a Public Good,” a user wrote.
Twitter, which witnessed a police raid on its offices in Delhi and Gurugram early this week related to the alleged Congress toolkit controversy, said that it reaffirms that Twitter continues to accept grievances from users and law enforcement via its existing grievance redressal channel available under the new IT Rules.
On Monday, Delhi Police visited Twitter India’s local offices in the National Capital Region after Twitter had marked one of the tweets of BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra as “manipulated media”.
Twitter’s presumptive judgment triggered widespread outrage among Indian users across the country.
The company spokesperson said that it plans to advocate for changes to elements of these regulations that inhibit free, open public conversation.
