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India says Jack Dorsey's claim it threatened Twitter shutdown a 'lie'
Dorsey, who quit as CEO in 2021, said on Monday that the Indian government had also threatened Twitter with raids on its staff if it did not comply with certain requests
File photo
India threatened to shut down Twitter in the country unless it complied with orders to restrict accounts critical of the handling of farmer protests, its co-founder Jack Dorsey said, a charge Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government called a "lie".
Dorsey, who quit as CEO in 2021, said on Monday that the Indian government had also threatened Twitter with raids on its staff if it did not comply with requests to take down certain posts.
He cited no documentary evidence on YouTube and Reuters could not independently establish his specific claims. Dorsey could not be reached for further comment.
India's Deputy Minister for Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar, a top ranking official in Modi's government, called Dorsey's assertions an "outright lie".
Twitter, which was bought by Elon Musk in a $44 billion deal last year, did not respond to a request for comment on Dorsey's allegations or the Indian government's response.
Dorsey's comments again put the spotlight on the struggles faced by foreign technology giants operating under Modi, whose government has often criticised Google, Facebook and Twitter for not doing enough to tackle what it calls fake or "anti-India" content on their platforms, or for not complying with rules.
The former Twitter CEO's comments drew widespread attention in the Indian media and among politicians, as it is unusual for global business leaders or firms to publicly criticise Modi's government.
Last year, Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi said in a court filing that India's financial crime agency threatened its executives with "physical violence" and coercion, an allegation which the agency denied.
Following the YouTube interview, several top Indian officials criticized Dorsey's remarks and Twitter's past handling of misinformation. But some opposition lawmakers accused the government of muzzling the voices of farmers during the 2020-2021 protest, one of the severest challenges Modi has faced.
Modi's government eventually gave in and repealed the laws, which the protesters said were anti-farmer. It has maintained it ordered content take downs at the time to deter the spread of misinformation.
"It shows that everyone who dares to show the smallest bit of courage will be suppressed," said Supriya Shrinate, a spokesperson for the main opposition Congress party.
The Modi administration has consistently denied suggestions by its critics that it has clamped down on free speech.
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