Government or Twitter? Users predict their winner

The stand off between the Indian government and Twitter has reached a boiling point with the country bringing in new laws to oversee online speech. Both are engaged in a bitter tiff  of national interest versus freedom of speech, both with an intent to protect users. In the midst of all this, Mr. Rishi Darda, Editorial Director and Jt Managing Director of Lokmat Media  has come up with a interesting Twitter poll on the entire episode. Interestingly, at the end of the poll, 66.3 percent of users were of the firm opinion that it is the government who is likely to come on tops. Meanwhile, 33.7% voted in favour of the tech giants. Netizens also pointed out the hypocrisy of Twitter banning accounts and tweets in the name of hateful speech. 

Who do you think will win this battle - Government of India or Twitter?#TwitterBanInIndia#IndiaVsTwitter#Twitter#SocialMediaban#PollOfPolls#justasking#poll#India

— Rishi Darda (@rishidarda) May 28, 2021

Earlier,  Twitter India said it would “strive to comply” with the law but voiced concerns over “the use of intimidation tactics by the police” and “potential threat to freedom of expression”. The statement earned a sharp retort from the government, which termed it “an attempt to dictate its terms to the world’s largest democracy” and asked Twitter to stop “beating around the bush” and comply with the law.“ To keep our service available, we will strive to comply with applicable law in India. But just as we do around the world, we will continue to be strictly guided by principles of transparency, a commitment to empowering every voice on the service, and protecting freedom of expression and privacy under the rule of law,” said a Twitter spokesperson. The government also assured Twitter and other social media platforms that their representatives “are and will always remain safe in India and there is no threat to their personal safety and security”. Stressing that protecting freedom of speech is the “commitment of the world’s largest democracy”, the government said it “respects the right of people to ask questions and also criticise on these social media platforms, including on Twitter”.