In what could finally end the fortnight-long deadlock between Twitter and the Indian government, the micro-blogging platform has either withheld or suspended at least 90-95 per cent accounts as directed by the IT Ministry in two separate notices, government sources confirmed to IANS on Friday.
Among those whose accounts have been withheld include Sukhram Singh Yadav, a Rajya Sabha member and Samajwadi Party leader, and several politicians from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress.
“@MPSukhram’s account has been withheld in India in response to a legal demand,” is the message posted on his account to users who access the page from India. This account, however, can be accessed from outside of the country.
The company, facing penal action if does not comply with the directions given by the IT Ministry in three notices to block nearly 1,435 accounts in the wake of the farmers’ protests, had earlier said that it withheld a portion of the accounts identified in the blocking orders under its ‘Country Withheld Content’ policy within India only.