On Monday, Twitter blocked access to accounts associated with farmers protesting against the Indian government on Monday, in what was a localized blackout of some 250 accounts and tweets.
The blocks, visible to users in India, took effect after the Government’s legal notice.
One thing many of the accounts appeared to have in common: they had shared content that criticized the ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) amid an ongoing protest movement by farmers. Most of these accounts also used the false hashtag #ModiPlanningFarmerGenocide.
After the move was not appreciated online, Twitter said it had unblocked all the accounts late on Monday.
According to Twitter, company representatives had met with Indian government officials to convey that the tweets constituted free speech and are newsworthy, reports Time Magazine.
The government has sent a notice to Twitter for reinstating a number of accounts that were supporting the farmers’ protests despite the IT Ministry directive to block these and warning it of consequences “of non-compliance of directions issued under section 69A of the Act”.
The blocks came days after peaceful protests in Delhi by farmers unhappy with government agricultural reforms turned violent for the first time during the 26th January Republic Day celebrations. Farmers used tractors to tear down police barricades, and videos of police attacking protesting farmers circulated on social media.
