Govt warns Twitter over non-removal of accounts talking of ‘farmer genocide’

New Delhi: The Indian government has sent a notice to Twitter, warning the social media platform of penal action over non-compliance of its order to remove accounts and tweets which alleged “farmer genocide” in the country, sources said.
Content with the hashtag “#ModiPlanningFarmerGenocide” were posted on Twitter, which, according to the government, was designed to “inflame passions” and “hatred”.
The notice issued by the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MEITY) held that it motivated the campaign to abuse, inflame and create tension in society on “unsubstantiated” grounds.
The ministry also said that incitement to genocide is not freedom of speech but a threat to law and order.
Citing that Twitter unilaterally unblocked accounts and tweets despite the government order, the notice said that that Twitter is an intermediary and is obliged to obey the direction of the government and refusal to do so will invite penal action.
MEITY had passed an interim order dated January 31, as a matter of emergency, for blocking 257 URLs and 1 hashtag under Section 69 A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.