NEW DELHI : Twitter Inc. said on Wednesday it would not fully comply with orders from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to take down some accounts as it does not believe the orders are consistent with Indian law.
It has permanently suspended some accounts but for others, it has only restricted access within India and the tweets can still be read outside the country.
The US social media giant has found itself in a heated no-win row with Modi’s administration, which wants it to take down more than 1,100 accounts and posts that the government argues are spreading misinformation about months-long farmers’ protests against new agricultural laws.
Some accounts, the government said, are backed by arch-rival Pakistan or are operated by supporters of a separatist Sikh movement.
The government has played hardball, sending Twitter a notice of non-compliance last week that threatens its executives with jail terms of up to seven years and the company with fines if it does not block the content.
Twitter said it had suspended more than 500 accounts that were engaging in clear examples of platform manipulation and spam, and had also taken actions on hundreds of others that breached its rules relating to the inciting of violence and abuse.
Others were geo-blocked, although Twitter did not go into detail on how it made decisions on which accounts to restrict.
“These accounts continue to be available outside of India,” Twitter said. “Because we do not believe that the actions we have been directed to take are consistent with Indian law.”
India had also asked Twitter to restrict access to news accounts, arguing that the “freedom of press does not include freedom to spread misinformation”, according to a copy of a government order reviewed by Reuters.
Twitter said it had not taken action on accounts run by journalists, news media, activists and politicians, in line with its policy of defending freedom of speech.
“To do so, we believe, would violate their fundamental right to free expression under Indian law,” Twitter said, adding that it had informed the technology ministry of its actions.
India’s technology ministry said the blog post preceded a planned meeting between its most senior official and Twitter executives that had been organized after a request from the company.
“In this light a blog post published prior to this engagement is unusual,” the ministry posted on Koo, a homegrown rival to Twitter.
The government will share its response soon, it added.
Tens of thousands of farmers have camped on the outskirts of New Delhi for months demanding the withdrawal of new agriculture laws they say benefit private buyers at the expense of growers. The government says the reforms open up new opportunities for farmers.
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Twitter says won’t fully comply with Indian orders to remove ‘Pakistan-backed’ accounts
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Twitter says won’t fully comply with Indian orders to remove ‘Pakistan-backed’ accounts
- Social media giant has found itself in a heated row with Modi’s administration which wants it to take down more than 1,100 accounts
- The Modi government says some accounts are backed by arch-rival Pakistan or operated by supporters of a separatist Sikh movement
Boys recount ‘torment’ at hands of armed rebels in DR Congo
BUNIA: Forcibly recruited into a rebel militia affiliated with the Daesh group, two boys revealed the “torment” of living in its camps as members committed massacres in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s northeast.
The two minors freed from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) gave AFP an unprecedented account of the shadowy group, notorious for its extreme brutality.
Paluku, a frail 12-year-old, spent two months with the ADF after rebels killed his mother during an attack on his village in eastern North Kivu province. His brother and sister were also captured.
Edouard, 17, spent a gruelling four years with the ADF — formed by Ugandan rebels who took refuge in DRC — after he was kidnapped at age 12.
The two boys, using pseudonyms, spoke on condition of anonymity at a center specializing in the care of minors recruited by armed groups in the region, whose location AFP has chosen not to disclose to avoid potential reprisals.
Their accounts were confirmed by health and security sources.
Round-faced Edouard, a fast-talker, did not mince his words in describing his years of “torment” within the ADF.
“We suffered terribly,” he said.
After their capture, Edouard and Paluku were sent to ADF bases hidden in the dense forest of northeast DRC where the elusive rebels avoid patrols by the Congolese army and Ugandan forces deployed there since 2021.
The bases consist of simple tents and tarps, easy to move in the event of an attack.
Most occupants are women and children, according to security sources, contributing to the group’s operations — but also serving as human shields.
New recruits are swiftly forced to convert to Islam and learn Arabic, but also English and Swahili, Edouard said.
“I was also trained in medicine to treat the wounded, and we learned how to handle weapons and clean them,” he said.
Paluku said he underwent similar training, as well as learning how to “steal food, clothing and medicine to bring back to the ADF camp.”
- Floggings -
Children play a central role in supplying the group, security sources said. Those who fail to bring back loot face severe punishment.
The wives of the ADF commanders, some of whom are particularly influential, also exercise power over the young recruits.
When the fighters go out on “operations,” the youngest among them like Paluku, were “supposed to bring something back for the chief’s wife,” he said, like soap, cooking oil or fabric.
“To get it we have to loot people’s belongings, and if a chief’s wife accuses you to her husband of not bringing back what she asked for, she can demand that you be killed,” he said.
Edouard and Paluku said they were subjected to incessant corporal punishment.
Girls and boys were whipped or thrown into pits for several weeks over the slightest misbehavior.
“I was punished with lashes because I refused to go kill people,” Paluku said with a long stare.
Edouard took part in combat with the group at least three times against the Congolese army or local militias.
“They beat us mostly when we lost our weapons and ammunition, claiming we had wasted them for nothing or lost them on the front,” he explained.
Faced with such an accusation, Edouard said a chief ordered that he be whipped.
“I fell ill because of those lashes. I told the chief outright I was no longer able to go fight on the front, I begged him to send others who were capable, but that made him even more angry, and I was whipped once again,” he said.
- Trauma -
About 10 children freed from the ADF arrive on average each month at the reception center in the troubled northeast Ituri province.
“These children have suffered psychological trauma and torture, and when they arrive here, most are aggressive,” said Madeleine, a psychologist at the center.
After a few weeks spent around other children and staff, their aggression fades, she said.
But there are other scars to contend with.
Edouard became addicted to drugs administered by the rebels after he was wounded in combat.
Suffering from speech disorders, he talks constantly and sometimes incoherently, disturbing other residents, Madeleine said.
After a year at the center receiving ongoing treatment, Edouard recounted the horrors of his experience with a shy smile and a lively, excitable gaze.
Paluku meanwhile had a darker expression, recalling his sister who remains a hostage.
“She has become the wife of one of the ADF chiefs,” he said.
The two minors freed from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) gave AFP an unprecedented account of the shadowy group, notorious for its extreme brutality.
Paluku, a frail 12-year-old, spent two months with the ADF after rebels killed his mother during an attack on his village in eastern North Kivu province. His brother and sister were also captured.
Edouard, 17, spent a gruelling four years with the ADF — formed by Ugandan rebels who took refuge in DRC — after he was kidnapped at age 12.
The two boys, using pseudonyms, spoke on condition of anonymity at a center specializing in the care of minors recruited by armed groups in the region, whose location AFP has chosen not to disclose to avoid potential reprisals.
Their accounts were confirmed by health and security sources.
Round-faced Edouard, a fast-talker, did not mince his words in describing his years of “torment” within the ADF.
“We suffered terribly,” he said.
After their capture, Edouard and Paluku were sent to ADF bases hidden in the dense forest of northeast DRC where the elusive rebels avoid patrols by the Congolese army and Ugandan forces deployed there since 2021.
The bases consist of simple tents and tarps, easy to move in the event of an attack.
Most occupants are women and children, according to security sources, contributing to the group’s operations — but also serving as human shields.
New recruits are swiftly forced to convert to Islam and learn Arabic, but also English and Swahili, Edouard said.
“I was also trained in medicine to treat the wounded, and we learned how to handle weapons and clean them,” he said.
Paluku said he underwent similar training, as well as learning how to “steal food, clothing and medicine to bring back to the ADF camp.”
- Floggings -
Children play a central role in supplying the group, security sources said. Those who fail to bring back loot face severe punishment.
The wives of the ADF commanders, some of whom are particularly influential, also exercise power over the young recruits.
When the fighters go out on “operations,” the youngest among them like Paluku, were “supposed to bring something back for the chief’s wife,” he said, like soap, cooking oil or fabric.
“To get it we have to loot people’s belongings, and if a chief’s wife accuses you to her husband of not bringing back what she asked for, she can demand that you be killed,” he said.
Edouard and Paluku said they were subjected to incessant corporal punishment.
Girls and boys were whipped or thrown into pits for several weeks over the slightest misbehavior.
“I was punished with lashes because I refused to go kill people,” Paluku said with a long stare.
Edouard took part in combat with the group at least three times against the Congolese army or local militias.
“They beat us mostly when we lost our weapons and ammunition, claiming we had wasted them for nothing or lost them on the front,” he explained.
Faced with such an accusation, Edouard said a chief ordered that he be whipped.
“I fell ill because of those lashes. I told the chief outright I was no longer able to go fight on the front, I begged him to send others who were capable, but that made him even more angry, and I was whipped once again,” he said.
- Trauma -
About 10 children freed from the ADF arrive on average each month at the reception center in the troubled northeast Ituri province.
“These children have suffered psychological trauma and torture, and when they arrive here, most are aggressive,” said Madeleine, a psychologist at the center.
After a few weeks spent around other children and staff, their aggression fades, she said.
But there are other scars to contend with.
Edouard became addicted to drugs administered by the rebels after he was wounded in combat.
Suffering from speech disorders, he talks constantly and sometimes incoherently, disturbing other residents, Madeleine said.
After a year at the center receiving ongoing treatment, Edouard recounted the horrors of his experience with a shy smile and a lively, excitable gaze.
Paluku meanwhile had a darker expression, recalling his sister who remains a hostage.
“She has become the wife of one of the ADF chiefs,” he said.
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