Union IT Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Wednesday said that former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey should clarify why he is using falsehoods so close to the elections in India and the United States. The minister was responding to a question by Financial Express Digital on the Twitter controversy while addressing the FE Digital Bharat Economy Conclave 2023 in New Delhi
“I think it is for Jack Dorsey to clarify why he is lying. What he said is an outright lie. The lie is that he says people were jailed and Twitter was shut down and I am saying today that for two years, they were non-compliant and violative of Indian law,” Chandrasekhar said.
The minister added that that opportunity for the government to act against Twitter or shut them down, it was when they were violating the law. “They consistently violated Indian law for two years till June 2022, when they actually started complying with the Indian law,” Chandrasekhar said, reiterating his statement following Dorsey’s claims on Tuesday.
“India, for example. India is one of the countries which had many requests around farmers protests, around particular journalists which were critical of the government, and it manifested in ways such as ‘we will shut Twitter down in India’… ‘we would raid the homes of your employees’, which they did; ‘we will shut down your offices if you don’t follow suit’. And this is India, a democratic country,” Dorsey said in an interview when asked if he had faced any pressure from foreign governments.
The remarks triggered a major controversy in India with Opposition parties, including the Congress, leveling allegations of “dictatorship” against the government. Dismissing the allegations, Chandrashekhar said that he is “not in the business” of having the Congress agree with him.
“I am not in the business of having the Congress agree with me, certainly not. Whether it was the 2G scam, or whether it was the zero loss theory… or whether it was Section 66A where I said it infringes upon individual rights. and so on. But the people of India agree with us, and that is our goal and that is our mission,” he added.
Referring to the controversy on Tuesday, Union I&B minister Anurag Thakur said that “foreign forces” get more active as elections approach in India. However, Chandrashekhar said it wasn’t for him or the government to clarify that.
“What he said so close to the Indian elections or the US elections, that is a question on which many people have many speculative thoughts on it including some that are angry, some that are dismissive. It is a lie, a falsehood. Why he is using falshehood, I am not in the business of reading Jack Dorsey’s mind and it is for him to clarify. But I think everybody has a fair degree of speculation that there is something more than what meets the eye. That is for him to clarify,” Chandrasekhar said.
Turning Point
“Tech is a force of good and then came along these social media platforms,” the minister said addressing the audience. “We thought they were harbingers of good. We allowed them to grow unfettered as they masqueraded that they were for the social good. We said give us more.”
The minister said there was no single inflection point. “There is no one sudden moment when we realised (the potential of social media). But I don’t think they set out to become what they became. Over time as they became more powerful, they became what they became,” he added.
Referring to the lack of compliance, Chandrasekhar said that Twitter believed they are a sovereign entity. “India is a democratic country and we live by the rule of law. Twitter misuses power, they follow a particular political ideology. This reinforces the fact that we need to have more guidelines so that abuse of power can be stalled.”
Driven by partnerships
Chandrasekhar said that the Government realises that digital is a huge opportunity. “Future of tech cannot be led by one country alone. China might think so but that’s not the case. It has to be driven by partnerships anchored by companies and governments.”
Chandrasekhar said that the Indian government operates on principles. “If people disagree then we will explain to them what is the basis of our principles,” he added.