Collaborating closely with Poll panel in India: Twitter

New Delhi: Social media giant Twitter on Tuesday said it is working "collaboratively" with the Election Commission of India and is taking a number of steps, including setting up a cross-functional team, to ensure integrity and transparency on its platform ahead of general elections. A day after his meeting with the parliamentary panel, Twitter Global Vice-President of Public Policy Colin Crowell said the company is putting in place a dedicated cross-functional team that works on site integrity and "is prepared to deal with issues of manipulation".

"India is important to Twitter and this election is top priority for us...The meeting was substantive and respectful...So what I tried to convey to the Committee yesterday was the seriousness with which we are undertaking a variety of activities to prepare for the elections," Crowell told PTI.

Twitter, which was facing allegations of political bias on its platform, has been asked by the parliamentary panel to ensure that the upcoming Lok Sabha polls are not influenced by foreign entities.

The American company is also said to have agreed to appoint a nodal officer to work with the Election Commission to address any issue that arises during the elections.

Asked about the appointment of the nodal officer, Crowell said this is an ongoing conversation with the ECI and that the company will "have people in place that can respond to their requests" and "that process will be worked out prior to elections".

"We are committed to working collaboratively and closely with the ECI," he asserted.

On allegations of political bias on Twitter's platform, Crowell said those were false. "Any allegation that Twitter factors in people's political beliefs and perspectives in the development of our rules or the enforcement of our rules, is false. We believe strongly in impartiality and we enforce our rules impartially," he said.