People have been at liberty to write tweets to express their views or opinions about anything. However, a tweet by pop star Rihanna back in February this year triggered a backlash against the Indian government's handling of massive farmer protests near the country's capital earlier this year. And now, the Indian government is stepping up efforts to block hundreds of tweets critical of the government. This, as relations between Twitter and the Indian government took a turn for the worse following widespread condemnation of the government.
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In an attempt to stave off having inflammatory remarks about the Indian government on social media platforms, Indian officials not only bashed those critical of the government, but also issued multiple injunctions aimed at blocking hundreds of tweets criticising the government.
So far, Twitter has deleted some tweets slamming the Indian government, but has yet to take action against the remaining tweets critical of the government.
The new Internet law, according to critics, would add insult to injury, since relations between Twitter and Modi's government have gone downhill following pop star Rihanna's tweet bashing the government's handling of massive farmer protests earlier this year.
That Internet law puts digital platforms like Twitter and Facebook under direct government oversight. In light of widespread criticism about the government, officials say the rules are crucial to quelling misinformation and hate speech, which those who have been critical of Modi's government utilise to trigger widespread condemnation of the government.
On the heels of the imposition of the new Internet law, Indian police raided Twitter's offices in India and have accused its India chief of spreading hatred and "hurting the the sentiments of Indians."
Many are saying the Internet law would only trigger fears over online speech and privacy. But be that as it may, the government reacted by saying "nothing could be further from the truth", insisting Indians will reap the benefits.
Earlier internet restrictions had already prompted the Washington-based Freedom House to list India as "partly free".
WhatsApp also sued Modi's government for undermining the privacy of billions of people on WhatsApp because of breaking encryption.
Indian officials consider the imposition of that new Internet law the first step to eradicating misinformation and hate speech, and are expected to request lawful access for email and messenger services data to stop widespread criticism about the government, and combat hate speech and misinformation.
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