Twitter has blocked the official account of the government of Pakistan in India again “in response to a legal demand”, according to reports.
This is the second time in six months that Twitter has restricted the Pakistan government’s account (@GovtofPakistan) from being viewed in India. However, there has been no official statement yet from either India or Pakistan’s IT ministry addressing the move, which has gained broad coverage on both sides of the border.
Twitter’s guidelines require it to block accounts when faced with a legal request, including a court order based on local laws from the authorities.
In July, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that India had blocked Twitter handles belonging to Pakistani embassies located Iran, Turkey, Egypt, and the United Nations.
“Deeply concerning that India has blocked flow of information to Indian Twitter by withholding access to following official accounts,” the Foreign Office had stated. “Diminishing space for plurality of voices and access to info in India is extremely alarming. Social media platforms must abide by applicable international laws.”
Prior to restricting these accounts, the Indian Ministry of Information Technology and Broadcasting had blocked 16 YouTube channels, six of them Pakistan-based, claiming that they were “spreading disinformation related to India’s national security, foreign relations, and public order”.
“YouTube channels based in Pakistan were found to have been used in a coordinated manner to post fake news about India on various subjects such as the Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir, and India’s foreign relations in the light of the situation in Ukraine, etc.,” an official statement read.
It added the content posted on these channels was observed to be false and sensitive from the perspective of national security, sovereignty and integrity of India, as well as India’s friendly relations with foreign states.
The Foreign Office had urged Twitter to restore immediate access to the restricted Pakistani accounts.
