Microblogging site Twitter has banned the account of journalist Rana Ayyub in India. This action has been taken under the Information Technology Act, 2000. Ayyub posted a notice on her Twitter account on Sunday and said, “Hello Twitter, what exactly is this?”
In the notice shared by Ayyub, it is written that “We have banned this account in India while following the obligations under the local laws of India. This action has been taken under the country’s Information Technology Act, 2000.”
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According to the notice, “Twitter strongly believes in defending and respecting the voice of people using our service, if we get a legal request to remove content from an authorized organization (law enforcement or government agency). It is our policy to inform the account holders. We give notice to find out whether the user lives in the country or not, from where the appeal has been made.”
Voices raised in support of Rana Ayyub
In response to Ayyub’s tweet, legendary Tennis player Martina Navratina said, “So who is next?!? Just awful….” She has tagged Rana Ayyub and Twitter in her post. At the same time, former CEO of Prasar Bharati, Shashi Shekhar Vampati, said that the notice of Twitter “either a bug or previous incidents could be a late response. I too got such an email from last year’s Twitter.”
Even after Twitter notice, Rana Ayyub’s account is active in India so far. It is known that Rana Ayyub is accused of misuse of funds received for relief work. The Enforcement Directorate seized Ayyub’s Rs 1.77 crore amount this year. Rana said that the campaign against her is being carried out with a conspiracy to discredit her reputation. At the same time, by issuing a statement, the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner had said that judicial harassment against Rana Ayyub should be stopped immediately.