“Just Awful”: Twitter “Withholds” Journalist Rana Ayyub’s Account In India

Investigative journalist Rana Ayyub posted a notice from Twitter on late Sunday which informed her account would be withheld in India, citing Information Technology Act, 2000.

Ayyub took to Twitter and posted the screenshot of the notice, saying, “Hello Twitter, what exactly is this?”

The notice served to Ayyub read, “In order to comply with Twitter’s obligations under India’s local laws, we have withheld the following account in India under the country’s Information Technology Act, 2000: the content remains available elsewhere.”

“As Twitter strongly believes in defending and respecting the voice of the people who use our service, it is our policy to notify account holders if we receive a legal request from an authorized entity (such law enforcement or government agency) to remove content from their account. We provide notice whether or not the user lives in the country where the request originated,” it read.

Social media users expressed solidarity with Ayyub and accused the micro-blogging site of silencing the award-winning journalist at the behest of the Indian government.

Tennis legend Martina Navaratolina in response to Ayyub’s tweet said, “So who is next?!? Just awful…” She tagged Rana Ayyub and Twitter on her post.

Jodie Ginsberg, President of the Committee to Protect Journalists also tweeted, “So @Twitter is censoring journalist @RanaAyyub’s account in India at the behest of the authorities whom her work seeks to hold to account…Meanwhile the relentless #onlineviolence she faces largely goes unpunished.”

Secretary-General of Amnesty International – Agnes Callamard tweeted, “Seriously @Twitter? @RanaAyyub has spoken truth to power, denouncing hatred, discrimination, religious violence – and for these, you are silencing her? Shame.”

Former CEO of Prasar Bharati Shashi Shekhar Vempati said that the notice by Twitter could be “either a bug or a delayed reaction to past incidents.”

“Noticed many hyperventilating tweets regarding so-called online censorship by Govt of India via Twitter India . It either seems to be a bug or a delayed reaction to past incidents for I too have received such an email from Twitter overnight for the incident last year,” he said in a tweet.