Twitter received approximately 53,000 legal requests from governments to remove content during the period from January to June 2022, according to a blog post by the social media company. The top countries requesting content removal were Japan, South Korea, Turkey, and India, and Twitter’s compliance rate varied by requester country.
In addition, India was among the top nations seeking user data from Twitter during H1 2022, along with the United States, France, Japan, and Germany.
According to Twitter’s 20th Transparency Report, India submitted the most requests to remove tweets by verified journalists and news outlets between July and December 2021, with the country issuing 3,992 legal demands to remove content from Twitter. On April 12, Twitter CEO Elon Musk acknowledged that India’s social media rules were strict and stated that his company would comply with them rather than risk its employees being imprisoned.
Twitter has undergone significant changes since Musk took over as CEO. For instance, the social media company has begun removing blue tick icons used to verify users’ identities on the platform. Governments worldwide are seeking to exert more control over social media platforms, as evidenced by India’s legal requests for content removal and user data from Twitter. This comes amid a larger trend in recent years, where many countries have enacted laws to regulate social media firms in order to fight hate speech, and disinformation, and safeguard national security. However, the detractors of such legislation assert that it can stifle opposing views and curtail free speech, especially those of journalists and activists.
In the past, the blue checkmark denoted a profile’s authenticity for notable figures such as celebrities, journalists, organizations, and government bodies. However, it is now available to any user willing to pay a monthly subscription fee of $8 (over Rs 650).
Additionally, social media companies may struggle to comply with conflicting laws across different countries while also upholding user privacy and freedom of expression.
Twitter’s compliance rate for legal requests to remove content varies by country and may reflect the company’s assessment of the legitimacy of such requests. Twitter has previously stated that it aims to balance local laws and users’ rights to free expression. Nonetheless, Twitter’s recent decision to remove blue ticks from verified profiles and offer them as a subscription service has sparked criticism from some quarters, who believe that this could further entrench social inequality by giving greater legitimacy to users who can afford to pay for verification.
Overall, Twitter’s handling of legal requests for content removal and user data from governments is likely to remain a controversial issue. This reflects broader debates about the role of social media platforms in shaping public discourse, as well as the delicate balance between free expression and regulation.
