Hindu group sued Twitter for “distorted” map of India. Social media news
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The far-right Bajrang Dal group filed a complaint with the police after the map on the Twitter career page showed Indian-controlled Kashmir outside India.
A Hindu organization has filed a complaint to the police that Twitter’s country chief has displayed areas outside of India’s map on its website, launching a new investigation that has caused headaches for American social media companies.
A map on the Twitter career page shows the Indian-controlled Kashmir region, including the Himalayan enclave Ladakh outside India. Both India and Pakistan claim sovereignty over this disputed area.
This triggered an outcry on social media this week, when the relationship between Twitter and New Delhi became strained due to the company’s compliance with India’s new IT rules.
The complaint alleges that Twitter’s Indian boss Manish Maheshwari and another company executive violated the country’s IT rules and laws designed to prevent hostility and hatred between classes.
“It hurts my feelings with the Indian people,” Praveen Bhati, the leader of the Bajrang Dal, a far-right organization in Uttar Pradesh, said in a police complaint. He also called this an act of treason.
After strong opposition, Twitter removed the distorted map of India from its website
read @year Story | https://t.co/J8kHtFsK3Q pic.twitter.com/4rp8gQqT4G
-ANI digital (@ani_digital) June 28, 2021
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment. As of Tuesday, the map is no longer visible on its website.
Maheshwari was summoned by Uttar Pradesh police earlier this month for failing to stop the spread of a video suspected of inciting religious discord. Maheshwari won court relief in the case.
Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Information and Technology of India defendant The social media company did not abide by Indian rules and denied him access to his Twitter account.
In order to comply with the regulations that went into effect in May, companies such as Twitter must appoint a chief compliance officer, an appeals officer, and another senior executive to maintain contact with law enforcement and the government regarding legal requirements.
LinkedIn job information shows that all three positions are open on Twitter.
A senior government official previously told Reuters that due to failure to comply with new IT rules, Twitter may no longer be eligible to seek liability exemptions as an intermediary or host of Indian user content.
However, activists said that this is a matter for the court to decide.
Last year, the head of the Indian parliamentary group accused Twitter of disrespecting New Delhi’s sovereignty because map data showed that the territory under Indian rule was part of China. Social media companies said this was a mistake that was quickly resolved.
The increasingly tense relationship with New Delhi has made major US technology companies frustrated with the prospects of its largest growth market, so much so that some companies are rethinking expansion plans.
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