The NDA government’s record in upholding the freedom of not just the media organisations but of all other independent institutions has been pathetic. India’s image as an open, diverse society with a thriving democracy has taken a thorough beating in recent times. The latest revelations by Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey about the arm-twisting tactics of the Central government come as no surprise. In a media interview, Dorsey spoke about the threats to shut down the microblogging site if it failed to comply with the orders to restrict accounts critical of the government’s handling of farmer protests. He also went on to reveal that the government had threatened to raid employees’ houses across the country if Twitter failed to take down certain accounts. The tech giant has had a rocky relationship with the BJP-led government. Dorsey’s comments have once again put the spotlight on the struggles faced by social media companies under the Modi government, and the shrinking space to protect freedom of speech. There have been instances of excessive censorship of any criticism. In 2021, the farmers’ agitation against the now-scrapped agricultural laws was the flashpoint between the government and Twitter, for which India is the third largest market after the United States and Japan. By going after the social media company using crude methods of coercion, the government has exposed itself to the charge that it is bent upon stifling dissenting voices. Such a high-handed approach will only strengthen the perception that India is hurtling towards authoritarianism, similar to China.
In the past, Twitter had initially refused to take down certain tweets about farmer protests, flagged by the IT Ministry for allegedly “spreading misinformation”, but made a climb down later and took down some tweets flagged by the government. The government sought to control the narrative around the farmers’ protests when hundreds of thousands of farmers set up camps around Delhi. The protests were a source of embarrassment to the government, which has allowed little space for dissent. There was outrage after hundreds of Twitter accounts that had mentioned the protests, including those of prominent journalists and news websites, were suspended at the request of the government. However, this later grew into a row after Twitter restored most of the accounts, citing “insufficient justification” and refused to take down a further 1,100 accounts allegedly spreading misinformation. It must be pointed out that India’s ranking on the global press freedom index has been steadily declining since the NDA came to power in 2014, from 140 to 161 out of 180 countries. On the other hand, Twitter too owes answers to some of its opaque policies and actions that raise questions over its avowed neutrality. Dorsey himself is no stranger to controversy and faces accusations of being part of a Left ecosystem with contemptuous disregard for local laws.