Twitter is marking a challenging note in its struggle with India over the restriction of accounts in the country. On Monday, the company released its first official response since the Indian government demanded to block more than 250 accounts it had restored, challenging an order from the IT ministry. Blocked accounts included Caravan, a news magazine, and people who had criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“We strongly believe that open and free exchange of information has a positive global impact and that Tweets should continue to flow,” said the company in a statement shared with BuzzFeed News.
Twitter’s statement comes amid a clash with India’s increasingly authoritarian government, while millions of farmers protest agricultural reforms, shaking the country.
On Monday, Indian media reports said the government had asked the company to block nearly 1,200 additional accounts that he said were tweeting about the protests and being administered by Pakistan. A Times of India report also quoted an anonymous government official as saying that India was upset with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey for liking the tweets in support of the protests. A Twitter spokesman declined to comment.
On January 31, India’s IT ministry ordered Twitter to prevent more than 250 accounts belonging to activists, political commentators and the Caravan from being viewed within the country. Twitter initially complied, but changed course six hours later. In response, the Indian government ordered the site to block accounts once again and threatened Twitter employees in India with legal consequences for violating the order, including a fine and up to seven years in prison.
But a week later, accounts are still high, putting company employees in India at risk of government retaliation.
“The safety of our employees is a priority for us at Twitter,” said the company’s statement. “We continue to engage with the Government of India from a position of respect and have contacted the Minister, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology for a formal dialogue.”
Twitter’s actions put it at the center of a debate on freedom of expression in a country that is facing continued repression of dissent amid protests by millions of farmers who oppose agricultural reforms that they say will affect their revenues. For Twitter, blocking accounts once again would mean allowing that crackdown, but not restricting them poses risks of legal consequences.
“We review all reports we receive from the government as soon as possible and take appropriate action on those reports, while making sure to maintain our core values and commitment to protecting public conversation,” said Twitter. “An update is shared through our communication channels established with the government.”
Despite the polite language, some people, Including old Twitter officials saw a double meaning in the statement. During the Arab Spring of 2011, Biz Stone co-founder and former general counsel Alexander Macgillivray wrote a post clarifying the company’s position on freedom of expression. Was titled: “The tweets must flow.”