'Whole Business Will Close,' Says Twitter in Plea; Karnataka HC Issues Notice to Govt https://thewire.in/law/twitter-challenges-union-government-blocking-orders-karnataka-high-court
In a July 5 petition, Twitter had challenged several blocking orders from the MEITY on grounds that they do not merit blocking under Section 69A of the IT Act, and that they represent 'excessive use' of power by the government.
Rohtagi also submitted that as per the platform’s rules, users must be provided with reasons for why their accounts have been blocked and that the Union government has failed to provide reasons for their blocking orders.
“We are answerable to the account-holders why their accounts are blocked. If this continues, my whole business will close,” Live Law quoted Rohtagi as saying...
The Union government has consistently asked Twitter to remove content and block certain accounts or hashtags at different times over the past four years. However, the stand-off between the tech company and the government came to a head in February last year when the MEITY reportedly told Twitter to block around 250 handles, most of them posting regular updates on the nation-wide farmers’ protests that were underway at the time.
The handles which were blocked included those of Caravan magazine, as well as accounts which were regularly disseminating information regarding the protests, such as @tractor2twittr, the official handle of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, and others.
Although Twitter initially complied with the ban, it restored most of the accounts by the end of the same day (February 1); a move which reportedly drew the ire of the government, following which the stand-off intensified.