Congress handles blocking row: Twitter says rules are enforced judiciously, impartially for everyone

Photo for representational purpose

Clarifying its position regarding blocking accounts of Congress party and several of its leaders, Twitter on Thursday said its rules are enforced judiciously and impartially for everyone on its service.

In a statement, a Twitter spokesperson said the microblogging site it will continue to take proactive action if its rules are violated.

"The Twitter Rules are enforced judiciously and impartially for everyone on our service. We have taken proactive action on several hundred Tweets that posted an image that violated our Rules and may continue to do so in line with our range of enforcement options. Certain types of private information carry higher risks than others, and our aim is always to protect individuals' privacy and safety. We strongly encourage everyone on the service to familiarise themselves with the Twitter Rules and report anything they believe is in violation," the spokesperson said.

Citing reason behind blocking accounts the company said it was alerted by National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) about specific content on the platform that allegedly revealed the identity of an alleged sexual assault victim's (and a minor's) parents.

"We reviewed it against Twitter Rules and policies, as well as the concerns expressed as a matter of the Indian law," stated the spokesperson.

"As explained in our Help Center, if a Tweet was found to be in violation of the Twitter Rules, and has yet to be deleted by the account holder, we hide it behind a notice and the account remains locked until the Tweet is removed or the appeal is successfully processed," they added.

Also read: Locking Twitter accounts stifles freedom of expression: Shashi Tharoor

Earlier today, after blocking the official accounts of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other senior party leaders, Twitter has also blocked the official handle of the Indian National Congress (INC) for violating the rules of the microblogging site.

Reacting to the development, Social Media Head of All India Congress Committee (AICC) Rohan Gupta said that nothing will deter the party from raising the voice of the people.

He alleged that Twitter while acting under the government's pressure, has blocked the accounts of more than 5,000 party leaders and workers across India.

Raising questions on microblogging site's action, Gupta said, "Twitter has blocked its account for violation of rules, Twitter acting under government pressure. Twitter is acting under the government's pressure. If it is a violation of Twitter policy, then why the photo of the (Victim's) family was there on the Scheduled Caste (SC) commission handle from August 2 to August 5."

"On August 4, Rahul Gandhi meets the family members of the victims and raises their voice, and Twitter immediately locks his account and deletes his tweet. These are the double standards. If it is a policy violation, then the SC commission tweet should have been deleted. Why it was there up to August 5?" he asked.

He added, "Nothing will deter us from raising voices of these people. They have already locked more than 5,000 accounts of our leaders and other workers across India. But Twitter needs to understand they can work under pressure but we can't be pressurised into not raising the voice of people."

Earlier on Wednesday, Congress said the microblogging platform has also locked the official handles of five more senior leaders.

Congress secretary-communication Vineet Punia in a tweet said Twitter handles of AICC general secretary and former union minister Ajay Maken, party general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala, party MP Manickam Tagore, Mahila Congress president Sushmita Dev, Assam in-charge and former union minister Jitendra Singh Alwar have been locked.

On Wednesday, Mumbai Regional Congress Committee's official Twitter handle was also blocked for violating its rules, said Charan Singh Sapra, Committee Working President.

The Congress earlier said the Twitter account of party leader Rahul Gandhi has been temporarily suspended and he will stay connected through other social media platforms and continue to raise the voice of people.

On August 6, Twitter had taken down Rahul Gandhi's tweet that revealed the identity of the relatives of a rape and murder victim in Delhi. The victim was a minor. Congress leaders had been alleging that it has been done under pressure from the Central government.

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