Govt blocks fake accounts, Twitter forced to take notice
23 Aug 2012 6:54 AM IST
Twitter has promised to cooperate with the government after the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) complained to it about objectionable content on six accounts resembling the PMO's official account.
As the government blocked the six accounts after Twitter took no action, the social networking portal has communicated to the PMO that it would locate the 'unlawful content'. It has told the PMO that it could not take action earlier 'because the government entity did not intimate [it] through proper procedure electronically to our system and hence the request was not located', sources said.
Twitter said that it was 'now actively reviewing' the request and will be seeking additional information from the Ministry of Communication and IT 'to locate the unlawful content and the specific unlawful tweet', they said.
'India is important to us, and we would like to have clearer communication in these matters in future,' the communication said, adding that Twitter should be put in touch with appropriate departments in this regard.
Earlier, the PMO had asked the Cyber Security Cell of the Department of Information Technology to block these accounts, as they had content having 'communal overtones' and could have serious ramifications as these could be mistaken as the official account of the PMO. The PMO had initially asked the Twitter to shut down these accounts but after it was not done, the matter was referred to the Cyber Security Cell.
US LECTURES INDIA ON OPEN WEB, BUT FAILS ASSANGE TEST
Voicing its support for full freedom of the internet, the US has urged India to maintain respect for fundamental freedoms, while probing rumours that have caused an exodus of Northeastern Indians from southern cities.
When asked about India blocking some web sites to contain rumours against people from the Northeast, the US state department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said, 'On the larger question of internet freedom, you know where we are on that issue, and we are always on the side of full freedom of the internet. But as the Indian government continues to investigate these instances and preserve security, we also always urge the government to maintain its own commitment to human rights, fundamental freedoms, rule of law.'
Asked to explain its stand on Wikileaks in view of its professed support of full freedom of the internet, Nuland said: 'Wikileaks didn't have to do with freedom of the internet. It had to do with the compromise of US government classified information.'
The US had not asked for any investigation by the Indian government nor was it part of the investigation, Nuland said, noting that India itself has 'called an investigation of some of the sources of the rumours that have caused people to start to move'.
As the government blocked the six accounts after Twitter took no action, the social networking portal has communicated to the PMO that it would locate the 'unlawful content'. It has told the PMO that it could not take action earlier 'because the government entity did not intimate [it] through proper procedure electronically to our system and hence the request was not located', sources said.
Twitter said that it was 'now actively reviewing' the request and will be seeking additional information from the Ministry of Communication and IT 'to locate the unlawful content and the specific unlawful tweet', they said.
'India is important to us, and we would like to have clearer communication in these matters in future,' the communication said, adding that Twitter should be put in touch with appropriate departments in this regard.
Earlier, the PMO had asked the Cyber Security Cell of the Department of Information Technology to block these accounts, as they had content having 'communal overtones' and could have serious ramifications as these could be mistaken as the official account of the PMO. The PMO had initially asked the Twitter to shut down these accounts but after it was not done, the matter was referred to the Cyber Security Cell.
US LECTURES INDIA ON OPEN WEB, BUT FAILS ASSANGE TEST
Voicing its support for full freedom of the internet, the US has urged India to maintain respect for fundamental freedoms, while probing rumours that have caused an exodus of Northeastern Indians from southern cities.
When asked about India blocking some web sites to contain rumours against people from the Northeast, the US state department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said, 'On the larger question of internet freedom, you know where we are on that issue, and we are always on the side of full freedom of the internet. But as the Indian government continues to investigate these instances and preserve security, we also always urge the government to maintain its own commitment to human rights, fundamental freedoms, rule of law.'
Asked to explain its stand on Wikileaks in view of its professed support of full freedom of the internet, Nuland said: 'Wikileaks didn't have to do with freedom of the internet. It had to do with the compromise of US government classified information.'
The US had not asked for any investigation by the Indian government nor was it part of the investigation, Nuland said, noting that India itself has 'called an investigation of some of the sources of the rumours that have caused people to start to move'.
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