Twitter Bans Over 54K Accounts In India For Promoting Sexual Content, Terror

New Delhi: Twitter banned 52,141 accounts in India for promoting child sexual exploitation, non-consensual nudity and allied content between August 26 and September 25.

The micro-blogging platform, now owned by Elon Musk, also took down 1,982 accounts for promoting terrorism on its platform in the country.

Twitter, in its monthly report in compliance with the new IT Rules, 2021, said that it received 157 complaints from users in India in the same time-frame through its grievance redressal mechanisms, and took action on 129 of those URLS.

“In addition, we processed 43 grievances which were appealing Twitter account suspensions. These were all resolved and the appropriate responses were sent,” said Twitter.

“We overturned none of these account suspensions after reviewing the specifics of the situation. All accounts remain suspended. We also received 12 requests related to general questions about Twitter accounts during this reporting period,” it added.

Last month, Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Swati Maliwal had said the replies received from Twitter in the child pornography complaints were incomplete and the Commission was not satisfied with them.

Maliwal had on September 20 summoned Twitter India Policy Head and Delhi Police over tweets depicting child pornography and rape videos of women and children on the micro-blogging platform.

Taking suo moto cognisance of several tweets openly depicting videos and photographs of sexual acts involving children, the Commission said that most of the tweets portrayed children completely naked and many of them also depicted brutal rape and other non-consensual sexual activities with children and women.

The company said it “does not tolerate any material that features or promotes child sexual exploitation — whether in Direct Messages or elsewhere throughout the service”.