Tag: Twitter

  • Rapper Kanye West calls Elon Musk ‘half Chinese’

    By IANS

    LOS ANGELES: Rapper Kanye West has resurfaced on social media after he was suspended from Twitter for “inciting violence” following more antisemitic messages.The rapper and presidential hopeful posted a new message on Instagram where he alleged that Elon Musk was a clone and also mentioned former president Barack Obama, reports ‘Deadline’.”Am I the only one who thinks Elon could be half-Chinese? Have you ever seen his pics as a child? Take a Chinese genius and mate them with a South African super model and we have an Elon,” he wrote.”I say an Elon because they probably made 10 to 30 Elon’s and he’s the first genetic hybrid that stuck… Well, let’s not forget about Obama.”West continued, “I’m sorry for using curse words in church but I don’t have another word for Obama yet.”In the caption of the post, Kim Kardashian’s ex-husband added, “On Jay Zs birthday Future president of the United States Ye uses Mark Zuckerberg’s platform to incite a mass investigation of Elon Musk’s childhood photos in the midst of Balenciagagate I call this The theory of everything Problem solved Praise God.”Ye got into trouble again after an appearance on InfoWars with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones where he went on to praise Hitler and continued his antisemitic remarks on Twitter.What ultimately earned him a ban from the platform was an image of a swastika inside a Star of David, which Musk confirmed when he replied to a user.”I tried my best,” Musk tweeted. “Despite that, he again violated our rule against incitement to violence. Account will be suspended.”Following West’s post going viral, Musk had a reaction on Twitter where he said, “I take that as a compliment!”

    LOS ANGELES: Rapper Kanye West has resurfaced on social media after he was suspended from Twitter for “inciting violence” following more antisemitic messages.
    The rapper and presidential hopeful posted a new message on Instagram where he alleged that Elon Musk was a clone and also mentioned former president Barack Obama, reports ‘Deadline’.
    “Am I the only one who thinks Elon could be half-Chinese? Have you ever seen his pics as a child? Take a Chinese genius and mate them with a South African super model and we have an Elon,” he wrote.
    “I say an Elon because they probably made 10 to 30 Elon’s and he’s the first genetic hybrid that stuck… Well, let’s not forget about Obama.”
    West continued, “I’m sorry for using curse words in church but I don’t have another word for Obama yet.”
    In the caption of the post, Kim Kardashian’s ex-husband added, “On Jay Zs birthday Future president of the United States Ye uses Mark Zuckerberg’s platform to incite a mass investigation of Elon Musk’s childhood photos in the midst of Balenciagagate I call this The theory of everything Problem solved Praise God.”
    Ye got into trouble again after an appearance on InfoWars with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones where he went on to praise Hitler and continued his antisemitic remarks on Twitter.
    What ultimately earned him a ban from the platform was an image of a swastika inside a Star of David, which Musk confirmed when he replied to a user.
    “I tried my best,” Musk tweeted. “Despite that, he again violated our rule against incitement to violence. Account will be suspended.”
    Following West’s post going viral, Musk had a reaction on Twitter where he said, “I take that as a compliment!”

  • Gigi Hadid quits Twitter as it’s not ‘safe place’ after Elon Musk takeover

    By IANS

    LOS ANGELES: Supermodel Gigi Hadid has announced that she quit Twitter as it’s no longer a “safe place” for anyone after Elon Musk bought the platform for $44 billion.On the heels of Twitter mass layoffs, the 27-year-old supermodel turned to her Instagram Story to let her 76 million followers know that she’s no longer on the micro-blogging platform. She even called the social media site “cesspool of hate & bigotry”, reports aceshowbiz.com.”For a long time, but especially with its new leadership,” Gigi wrote of Elon, “it’s becoming more and more of a cesspool of hate & bigotry, and its (sic) not a place I want to be a part (sic) of.”Gigi added an apology to her fans on the platform, writing that she “loved connecting” with them “for a decade”.”I can’t stay it’s a safe place for anyone, nor a social platform that will do more good than harm,” she added.Alongside her statement, Gigi included Human Rights Counsel Shannon Raj Singh’s tweet about being laid off from the tech giant.Shannon’s post read: “Yesterday was my last day at Twitter: the entire Human Rights team has been cut from the company. I am enormously proud of the work we did to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights, to protect those at-risk in global conflicts & crises including Ethiopia.”Twitter fired roughly half of its workforce on November 4 with an email to staff explaining the cuts were “necessary to ensure the company’s success moving forward”.A handful of employees moved quickly to file a class action lawsuit in federal court in San Francisco on behalf of Twitter workers, reports aceshowbiz.com.The paperwork alleged that Twitter is letting go of staff without adequate notice, in violation of California and federal employment law. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification act, or WARN, requires at least a 60-day notice before conducting mass layoffs.Defending his decision, Musk, who announced that he’ll charge $8 a month for verified users who have blue tick, said that “there is no choice when the company is losing over $4M/day”.The CEO of SpaceX and Tesla further explained that anyone who “exited was offered 3 months of severance, which is 50 per cent more than legally required”.Aside from Gigi, many famous names have also decided to quit the platform, including Sara Bareilles, Toni Braxton, Mick Foley and ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ screenwriter Shonda Rhimes, since Musk officially became the owner and CEO of Twitter on October 27.

    LOS ANGELES: Supermodel Gigi Hadid has announced that she quit Twitter as it’s no longer a “safe place” for anyone after Elon Musk bought the platform for $44 billion.
    On the heels of Twitter mass layoffs, the 27-year-old supermodel turned to her Instagram Story to let her 76 million followers know that she’s no longer on the micro-blogging platform. She even called the social media site “cesspool of hate & bigotry”, reports aceshowbiz.com.
    “For a long time, but especially with its new leadership,” Gigi wrote of Elon, “it’s becoming more and more of a cesspool of hate & bigotry, and its (sic) not a place I want to be a part (sic) of.”
    Gigi added an apology to her fans on the platform, writing that she “loved connecting” with them “for a decade”.
    “I can’t stay it’s a safe place for anyone, nor a social platform that will do more good than harm,” she added.
    Alongside her statement, Gigi included Human Rights Counsel Shannon Raj Singh’s tweet about being laid off from the tech giant.
    Shannon’s post read: “Yesterday was my last day at Twitter: the entire Human Rights team has been cut from the company. I am enormously proud of the work we did to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights, to protect those at-risk in global conflicts & crises including Ethiopia.”Twitter fired roughly half of its workforce on November 4 with an email to staff explaining the cuts were “necessary to ensure the company’s success moving forward”.
    A handful of employees moved quickly to file a class action lawsuit in federal court in San Francisco on behalf of Twitter workers, reports aceshowbiz.com.
    The paperwork alleged that Twitter is letting go of staff without adequate notice, in violation of California and federal employment law. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification act, or WARN, requires at least a 60-day notice before conducting mass layoffs.
    Defending his decision, Musk, who announced that he’ll charge $8 a month for verified users who have blue tick, said that “there is no choice when the company is losing over $4M/day”.
    The CEO of SpaceX and Tesla further explained that anyone who “exited was offered 3 months of severance, which is 50 per cent more than legally required”.
    Aside from Gigi, many famous names have also decided to quit the platform, including Sara Bareilles, Toni Braxton, Mick Foley and ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ screenwriter Shonda Rhimes, since Musk officially became the owner and CEO of Twitter on October 27.

  • Shonda Rhimes says she is ‘not hanging around’ on Twitter after Elon Musk takeover 

    By PTI

    LOS ANGELES: Producer Shonda Rhimes says she is not sticking around on Twitter after billionaire Elon Musk took control of the microblogging site.

    Rhimes, known for backing shows such as “Grey’s Anatomy”, “Scandal” and “Bridgerton”, posted a message on Saturday suggesting she would no longer use the platform in the wake of the USD 44 billion acquisition of the social media giant by Musk.

    “Not hanging around for whatever Elon has planned. Bye,” Rhimes, who joined Twitter in November 2008 and has 1.9 million followers, tweeted.

    The TV mogul joins other notable Hollywood figures like “This Is Us” executive producer Ken Olin and “Billions” showrunner Brian Koppelman who have said they will no longer use Twitter with Musk at the helm.

    On Thursday, when the deal was closed, Musk had tweeted, “the bird is freed”.

    He had also tweeted to reassure advertisers that social messaging services wouldn’t devolve into “a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences!” 

    LOS ANGELES: Producer Shonda Rhimes says she is not sticking around on Twitter after billionaire Elon Musk took control of the microblogging site.

    Rhimes, known for backing shows such as “Grey’s Anatomy”, “Scandal” and “Bridgerton”, posted a message on Saturday suggesting she would no longer use the platform in the wake of the USD 44 billion acquisition of the social media giant by Musk.

    “Not hanging around for whatever Elon has planned. Bye,” Rhimes, who joined Twitter in November 2008 and has 1.9 million followers, tweeted.

    The TV mogul joins other notable Hollywood figures like “This Is Us” executive producer Ken Olin and “Billions” showrunner Brian Koppelman who have said they will no longer use Twitter with Musk at the helm.

    On Thursday, when the deal was closed, Musk had tweeted, “the bird is freed”.

    He had also tweeted to reassure advertisers that social messaging services wouldn’t devolve into “a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences!” 

  • Rahul hopes Twitter will now act against hate speech, not stifle voice of opposition in India

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi hoped on Friday that Twitter would now act against hate speech, check facts more robustly and not stifle the voice of the opposition in India, soon after billionaire Elon Musk took over the social media giant and fired four of its top executives.

    Gandhi’s Twitter handle was temporarily locked after he shared a picture of a rape victim and received a notice from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).

    He had not used his account on the microblogging website for some time after that. The Congress leader has been using his Twitter handle to attack the Narendra Modi government often.

    “Congrats @elonmusk. I hope @Twitter will now act against hate speech, fact check more robustly, and will no longer stifle the opposition’s voice in India due to government pressure,” Gandhi tweeted.

    Congrats @elonmusk.I hope @Twitter will now act against hate speech, fact check more robustly, and will no longer stifle the opposition’s voice in India due to government pressure. pic.twitter.com/j2unZeYYj6
    — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 28, 2022
    Musk closed the deal to buy Twitter and tweeted: “The bird is freed”, soon after completing the whopping USD 44 billion takeovers of the website and firing four of its top executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal and legal executive Vijaya Gadde.

    Citing people with knowledge of the situation, a news report said Musk “has started cleaning the house at Twitter with the firings of at least four top executives”.

    Besides Agrawal and Gadde, Twitter’s chief financial officer Ned Segal and general counsel Sean Edgett were also fired.

    “At least one of the executives who was fired was escorted out of Twitter’s office,” the report said. Gandhi also shared a graph of “manipulation” of his Twitter handle.

    It highlighted how, between August 2021 and February 2022, the new followers of the Congress leader were suppressed.

    ALSO READ | Parag Agrawal’s 11-month tenure as Twitter CEO ends as Elon Musk takes control

    Gandhi claimed that he had made 20 appeals to Twitter, even as the social media giant denied any wrongdoing.

    The graph also shows from January 2021, Gandhi’s Twitter account saw the number of new followers growing and after February 2022, it started growing again.

    NEW DELHI: Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi hoped on Friday that Twitter would now act against hate speech, check facts more robustly and not stifle the voice of the opposition in India, soon after billionaire Elon Musk took over the social media giant and fired four of its top executives.

    Gandhi’s Twitter handle was temporarily locked after he shared a picture of a rape victim and received a notice from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).

    He had not used his account on the microblogging website for some time after that. The Congress leader has been using his Twitter handle to attack the Narendra Modi government often.

    “Congrats @elonmusk. I hope @Twitter will now act against hate speech, fact check more robustly, and will no longer stifle the opposition’s voice in India due to government pressure,” Gandhi tweeted.

    Congrats @elonmusk.
    I hope @Twitter will now act against hate speech, fact check more robustly, and will no longer stifle the opposition’s voice in India due to government pressure. pic.twitter.com/j2unZeYYj6
    — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 28, 2022
    Musk closed the deal to buy Twitter and tweeted: “The bird is freed”, soon after completing the whopping USD 44 billion takeovers of the website and firing four of its top executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal and legal executive Vijaya Gadde.

    Citing people with knowledge of the situation, a news report said Musk “has started cleaning the house at Twitter with the firings of at least four top executives”.

    Besides Agrawal and Gadde, Twitter’s chief financial officer Ned Segal and general counsel Sean Edgett were also fired.

    “At least one of the executives who was fired was escorted out of Twitter’s office,” the report said. Gandhi also shared a graph of “manipulation” of his Twitter handle.

    It highlighted how, between August 2021 and February 2022, the new followers of the Congress leader were suppressed.

    ALSO READ | Parag Agrawal’s 11-month tenure as Twitter CEO ends as Elon Musk takes control

    Gandhi claimed that he had made 20 appeals to Twitter, even as the social media giant denied any wrongdoing.

    The graph also shows from January 2021, Gandhi’s Twitter account saw the number of new followers growing and after February 2022, it started growing again.

  • Centre’s orders to block accounts went against SC norm, Twitter tells Karnataka HC 

    By PTI

    BENGALURU: The Union government issued blocking orders in respect of tweets, content and accounts without following the relevant Supreme Court guideline, social media giant Twitter argued on Monday in the High Court of Karnataka and said its rights were also affected and challenged the confidentiality clause invoked by the Centre.

    The High Court rejected an impleading application filed on behalf of senior advocate Sanjay Hegde whose Twitter account was blocked.

    He has already filed a petition in the Delhi High Court in this regard.

    When Twitter’s petition challenging the Centre’s several orders to block tweets, content and accounts of users and related pleas came up for hearing before Justice Krishna S Dixit, senior counsel for the social media giant, Ashok Haranahalli argued that blocking orders were issued without following the guideline laid down by the Supreme Court in the Shreya Singhal case.

    The apex court had struck down section 66A of the Information Technology Act in that case.

    Twitter has claimed that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) ordered blocking without notifying the users and even Twitter was not allowed to inform the users.

    Haranahalli submitted that there was no way of knowing if the procedures were followed.

    Since Twitter was an intermediary, its rights were also affected when the authorities do not issue notice to the user whose account was blocked.

    He challenged the confidentiality clause in the blocking orders by which the users are not informed of the action taken against them.

    “Confidentiality clause is applicable to only third parties but it cannot be said that I cannot disclose even to the aggrieved,” he argued.

    Confidentiality among the authority, user and intermediary would not arise. Haranahalli submitted that blocking has to be for specific tweets and not entire accounts. He gave the example of banning books and said the author himself cannot be banned.

    “Suppose I write a bad book. Only the book can be banned,” he said.

    He argued that “a person may have thousands of followers and if account is blocked he will lose all of them. Suppose he opens new account, he will have to establish himself again.”

    Recording his submission, the court noted, “He finds fault with order by involving principle of proportionality. Only the tweet being blocked is one scenario and blocking account is another scenario.”

    The senior advocate argued that “If they go on blocking every account without giving valid reason then platform itself is affected.

    Another senior counsel for Twitter, Arvind Datar submitted a 300-page compilation on how the issue is handled in various counties.

    While in USA the government cannot direct anybody to remove any content, in Australia a safety commissioner can issue takedown notices which can be appealed against.

    Australian takedown orders are valid for three months, but in India it is permanent.

    Also, since there is no recourse for appeal, aggrieved users and networks can only approach the High Courts.

    He submitted that only on grounds mentioned in 69 (A) of the IT Act general blocking orders can be issued.

    This provision covers empowering the government to block access to content.

    Senior advocate Aditya Sondi moved an impleading application on behalf of senior advocate Sanjay Hegde whose Twitter account was blocked by Twitter.

    He has already filed a petition in the Delhi High Court and since the two parties in this case were relying on that case he wanted to assist the court here.

    The Karnataka High Court, however, rejected the plea and said the argument that “some of the pleadings before Delhi High Court are referred to by parties in the case is going to prejudice his client is difficult to countenance.”

    The High Court checked the contents of the sealed envelope submitted by Twitter containing blocking orders of the government on content, tweets and Twitter accounts.

    The court later adjourned the hearing to Tuesday.

    BENGALURU: The Union government issued blocking orders in respect of tweets, content and accounts without following the relevant Supreme Court guideline, social media giant Twitter argued on Monday in the High Court of Karnataka and said its rights were also affected and challenged the confidentiality clause invoked by the Centre.

    The High Court rejected an impleading application filed on behalf of senior advocate Sanjay Hegde whose Twitter account was blocked.

    He has already filed a petition in the Delhi High Court in this regard.

    When Twitter’s petition challenging the Centre’s several orders to block tweets, content and accounts of users and related pleas came up for hearing before Justice Krishna S Dixit, senior counsel for the social media giant, Ashok Haranahalli argued that blocking orders were issued without following the guideline laid down by the Supreme Court in the Shreya Singhal case.

    The apex court had struck down section 66A of the Information Technology Act in that case.

    Twitter has claimed that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) ordered blocking without notifying the users and even Twitter was not allowed to inform the users.

    Haranahalli submitted that there was no way of knowing if the procedures were followed.

    Since Twitter was an intermediary, its rights were also affected when the authorities do not issue notice to the user whose account was blocked.

    He challenged the confidentiality clause in the blocking orders by which the users are not informed of the action taken against them.

    “Confidentiality clause is applicable to only third parties but it cannot be said that I cannot disclose even to the aggrieved,” he argued.

    Confidentiality among the authority, user and intermediary would not arise. Haranahalli submitted that blocking has to be for specific tweets and not entire accounts. He gave the example of banning books and said the author himself cannot be banned.

    “Suppose I write a bad book. Only the book can be banned,” he said.

    He argued that “a person may have thousands of followers and if account is blocked he will lose all of them. Suppose he opens new account, he will have to establish himself again.”

    Recording his submission, the court noted, “He finds fault with order by involving principle of proportionality. Only the tweet being blocked is one scenario and blocking account is another scenario.”

    The senior advocate argued that “If they go on blocking every account without giving valid reason then platform itself is affected.

    Another senior counsel for Twitter, Arvind Datar submitted a 300-page compilation on how the issue is handled in various counties.

    While in USA the government cannot direct anybody to remove any content, in Australia a safety commissioner can issue takedown notices which can be appealed against.

    Australian takedown orders are valid for three months, but in India it is permanent.

    Also, since there is no recourse for appeal, aggrieved users and networks can only approach the High Courts.

    He submitted that only on grounds mentioned in 69 (A) of the IT Act general blocking orders can be issued.

    This provision covers empowering the government to block access to content.

    Senior advocate Aditya Sondi moved an impleading application on behalf of senior advocate Sanjay Hegde whose Twitter account was blocked by Twitter.

    He has already filed a petition in the Delhi High Court and since the two parties in this case were relying on that case he wanted to assist the court here.

    The Karnataka High Court, however, rejected the plea and said the argument that “some of the pleadings before Delhi High Court are referred to by parties in the case is going to prejudice his client is difficult to countenance.”

    The High Court checked the contents of the sealed envelope submitted by Twitter containing blocking orders of the government on content, tweets and Twitter accounts.

    The court later adjourned the hearing to Tuesday.

  • Rapper Kanye West’s Twitter, Instagram locked over offensive posts

    By Associated Press

    Kanye West’s Twitter and Instagram accounts have been locked because of antisemitic posts by the rapper, now known legally as Ye.

    Spokespersons for Twitter and Instagram parent Meta said Sunday that Ye posted messages that violated their policies.

    In a tweet sent late Saturday, Ye said he would soon go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” according to internet archive records. That’s an apparent reference to the U.S. military readiness condition scale known as DEFCON.

    In the same tweet, which was removed by Twitter, he said: “You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.”

    Earlier this month, Ye had been criticized for wearing a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt to his collection at Paris Fashion Week.

    Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs posted a video on Instagram saying he didn’t support the shirt, and urged people not to buy it.

    On Instagram, Ye posted a screenshot of a text conversation with Diddy and suggested he was controlled by Jewish people, according to media reports.

    Under their policies, the two social networks prohibit the posting of offensive language. Ye’s Twitter account is still active but he can’t post until the suspension ends, after an unspecified period.

    Meta, which owns Facebook as well as Instagram, at times will place restrictions on accounts that it deems repeatedly break its rules. The sanctions may include temporary restrictions on posting, commenting or sending direct messages.

    Ye had returned to Twitter on Saturday following a nearly two-year hiatus, reportedly after Instagram locked his account.

    Billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who last week renewed his $44 billion offer to buy Twitter following a monthslong legal battle with the company, greeted Ye’s return to the platform before his suspension by tweeting, “Welcome back to Twitter, my friend.”

    Musk has said he would remake Twitter into a free speech haven and relax restrictions, although it’s impossible to know precisely how he would run the influential network if he were to take over.

    Kanye West’s Twitter and Instagram accounts have been locked because of antisemitic posts by the rapper, now known legally as Ye.

    Spokespersons for Twitter and Instagram parent Meta said Sunday that Ye posted messages that violated their policies.

    In a tweet sent late Saturday, Ye said he would soon go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” according to internet archive records. That’s an apparent reference to the U.S. military readiness condition scale known as DEFCON.

    In the same tweet, which was removed by Twitter, he said: “You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.”

    Earlier this month, Ye had been criticized for wearing a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt to his collection at Paris Fashion Week.

    Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs posted a video on Instagram saying he didn’t support the shirt, and urged people not to buy it.

    On Instagram, Ye posted a screenshot of a text conversation with Diddy and suggested he was controlled by Jewish people, according to media reports.

    Under their policies, the two social networks prohibit the posting of offensive language. Ye’s Twitter account is still active but he can’t post until the suspension ends, after an unspecified period.

    Meta, which owns Facebook as well as Instagram, at times will place restrictions on accounts that it deems repeatedly break its rules. The sanctions may include temporary restrictions on posting, commenting or sending direct messages.

    Ye had returned to Twitter on Saturday following a nearly two-year hiatus, reportedly after Instagram locked his account.

    Billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who last week renewed his $44 billion offer to buy Twitter following a monthslong legal battle with the company, greeted Ye’s return to the platform before his suspension by tweeting, “Welcome back to Twitter, my friend.”

    Musk has said he would remake Twitter into a free speech haven and relax restrictions, although it’s impossible to know precisely how he would run the influential network if he were to take over.

  • BJP goes ballistic, calls Udit remark on Murmu ‘anti-tribal’

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Going ballistic against the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday slammed the Congress leadership for promoting “anti-tribal” mindset among its leaders after a “derogatory tweet regarding President Droupadi Murmu” was made on Wednesday.

    Congress leader Udit Raj on Wednesday had tweeted in Hindi (translated here): “No country should get a President like Draupadi Murmu ji. ‘Chamchagiri’ also has its limits. It is said that 70% of people eat salt from Gujarat. If you live eating salt yourself, you will know.”  The tweet drew sharp reactions from ruling BJP terming the tweet a ‘reflection’ of ‘anti-tribal mindset’ of Congress. However, Udit Raj later clarified that his statement was of his own and it has nothing to do with the Congress.

    Taking a dig at the Congress, BJP leader and senior spokesperson Sambit Patra said: “Words used for President Murmu by Congress leader Udit Raj worrisome and unfortunate. This reflects the anti-tribal mindset of Congress leaders”. Patra further lashed out at the Congress, accusing the party of allowing its leaders to  regularly pass such objectionable and derogatory statements. “The Congress leadership should take action against those leaders and should tender an apology,” Patra demanded.

     Prem Shukla, another senior BJP leader and party spokesperson, also slammed the Congress saying that earlier, Congress leaders Adhir Ranjan Choudhary and Ajay Kumar had made derogatory remarks also. “The Congress leadership is promoting anti-tribal mindset among its leadership. The people belonging to ST community will give a befitting reply to the Congress,” Shukla alleged.

    Shehzad Poonawalla, another BJP spokesperson, also went hammer and tongs against the Congress over Udit Raj’s statement. “The Congress is ‘insulting’ India’s first tribal woman President by allowing such derogatory statements by its leaders. The nation will not forgive the Congress,” he alleged. He demanded immediate expulsion of Udit Raj from the Congress.

    Meanwhile, the National Commission for Women also issued summon to Udit Raj for his objectionable statement.  NCW chairman Rekha Sharma termed the statement ‘highly objectionable’ against Supreme Authority.

    NEW DELHI: Going ballistic against the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday slammed the Congress leadership for promoting “anti-tribal” mindset among its leaders after a “derogatory tweet regarding President Droupadi Murmu” was made on Wednesday.

    Congress leader Udit Raj on Wednesday had tweeted in Hindi (translated here): “No country should get a President like Draupadi Murmu ji. ‘Chamchagiri’ also has its limits. It is said that 70% of people eat salt from Gujarat. If you live eating salt yourself, you will know.”  The tweet drew sharp reactions from ruling BJP terming the tweet a ‘reflection’ of ‘anti-tribal mindset’ of Congress. However, Udit Raj later clarified that his statement was of his own and it has nothing to do with the Congress.

    Taking a dig at the Congress, BJP leader and senior spokesperson Sambit Patra said: “Words used for President Murmu by Congress leader Udit Raj worrisome and unfortunate. This reflects the anti-tribal mindset of Congress leaders”. Patra further lashed out at the Congress, accusing the party of allowing its leaders to  regularly pass such objectionable and derogatory statements. “The Congress leadership should take action against those leaders and should tender an apology,” Patra demanded.

     Prem Shukla, another senior BJP leader and party spokesperson, also slammed the Congress saying that earlier, Congress leaders Adhir Ranjan Choudhary and Ajay Kumar had made derogatory remarks also. “The Congress leadership is promoting anti-tribal mindset among its leadership. The people belonging to ST community will give a befitting reply to the Congress,” Shukla alleged.

    Shehzad Poonawalla, another BJP spokesperson, also went hammer and tongs against the Congress over Udit Raj’s statement. “The Congress is ‘insulting’ India’s first tribal woman President by allowing such derogatory statements by its leaders. The nation will not forgive the Congress,” he alleged. He demanded immediate expulsion of Udit Raj from the Congress.

    Meanwhile, the National Commission for Women also issued summon to Udit Raj for his objectionable statement.  NCW chairman Rekha Sharma termed the statement ‘highly objectionable’ against Supreme Authority.

  • DCW issues summonses to Twitter, Delhi Police over ‘child pornography’ videos on website 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Delhi Commission For Women (DCW) has issued summonses to Twitter and the city police over the alleged availability of child pornography videos on the microblogging website.

    Twitter and the Delhi Police have been given time till September 26 to respond to the summonses. There was no immediate reaction from the website and the police.

    “The Chandigarh University incident set me thinking and I asked my team to investigate. We found videos of minor girls on Twitter in which they were seen being raped. Some of the platforms were even selling these videos for Rs 20 to Rs 30.

    This is horrific,” DCW chief Swati Maliwal told reporters here.

    Protests rocked the Chandigarh University campus in Punjab’s Mohali on Saturday night over allegations that objectionable videos of several female students were recorded by a hosteller, following which Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann ordered a probe.

    The panel has summoned the Twitter India policy head and the Delhi Police over tweets depicting child pornography and rape of women and girls.

    The commission took suo motu cognisance of several tweets with videos and photographs of sexual acts involving minors.

    According to the DCW, most of the tweets showed naked children and many of those also depicted incidents of rape and other non-consensual sexual activities with children and women.

    “Shockingly, some of these videos even depicted rape with children and women while they were asleep.

    Some of the Twitter accounts engaging in these criminal acts appear to be running a racket, wherein they seek money for providing pornographic and rape videos of children from other users of the social media platform.

    The commission has shared a list of such tweets with the Delhi Police and Twitter,” the panel said.

    In the summons issued to Twitter, the commission has said it is “deeply distressed” that such “illegal” acts involving sexual abuse of children and young women are being publicised through the website.

    The commission has summoned the Twitter official in order to ascertain the steps being taken by the website to prevent such content as well as the systems in place to immediately report the same to law enforcement agencies.

    The DCW has also asked the platform to provide reasons as to why the tweets were neither deleted nor reported by it.

    “The commission has also sought data regarding the number of such tweets presently available on Twitter.

    Further, it has sought the number of tweets depicting child pornography and rape identified, deleted and reported by Twitter in the past four years,” the panel said.

    The DCW has also asked Twitter about the standard operating procedure (SOP) related to deleting and reporting such content followed by the platform.

    It has tried to ascertain whether artificial intelligence and machine-learning tools are used by Twitter to automatically identify and delete tweets depicting abuse against women and children.

    In the summons to the Delhi police, the panel has sought an FIR in the matter.

    It has recommended that the children and women visible in the pornographic and rape videos be identified and assisted.

    The Delhi Police has also been asked to provide the number of similar tweets reported by Twitter in the past and whether FIRs were registered in connection with those and the accused arrested.

    The police have also been asked to inform about the steps taken by them to ensure that no such videos depicting child pornography or rape are present on Twitter.

    NEW DELHI: The Delhi Commission For Women (DCW) has issued summonses to Twitter and the city police over the alleged availability of child pornography videos on the microblogging website.

    Twitter and the Delhi Police have been given time till September 26 to respond to the summonses. There was no immediate reaction from the website and the police.

    “The Chandigarh University incident set me thinking and I asked my team to investigate. We found videos of minor girls on Twitter in which they were seen being raped. Some of the platforms were even selling these videos for Rs 20 to Rs 30.

    This is horrific,” DCW chief Swati Maliwal told reporters here.

    Protests rocked the Chandigarh University campus in Punjab’s Mohali on Saturday night over allegations that objectionable videos of several female students were recorded by a hosteller, following which Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann ordered a probe.

    The panel has summoned the Twitter India policy head and the Delhi Police over tweets depicting child pornography and rape of women and girls.

    The commission took suo motu cognisance of several tweets with videos and photographs of sexual acts involving minors.

    According to the DCW, most of the tweets showed naked children and many of those also depicted incidents of rape and other non-consensual sexual activities with children and women.

    “Shockingly, some of these videos even depicted rape with children and women while they were asleep.

    Some of the Twitter accounts engaging in these criminal acts appear to be running a racket, wherein they seek money for providing pornographic and rape videos of children from other users of the social media platform.

    The commission has shared a list of such tweets with the Delhi Police and Twitter,” the panel said.

    In the summons issued to Twitter, the commission has said it is “deeply distressed” that such “illegal” acts involving sexual abuse of children and young women are being publicised through the website.

    The commission has summoned the Twitter official in order to ascertain the steps being taken by the website to prevent such content as well as the systems in place to immediately report the same to law enforcement agencies.

    The DCW has also asked the platform to provide reasons as to why the tweets were neither deleted nor reported by it.

    “The commission has also sought data regarding the number of such tweets presently available on Twitter.

    Further, it has sought the number of tweets depicting child pornography and rape identified, deleted and reported by Twitter in the past four years,” the panel said.

    The DCW has also asked Twitter about the standard operating procedure (SOP) related to deleting and reporting such content followed by the platform.

    It has tried to ascertain whether artificial intelligence and machine-learning tools are used by Twitter to automatically identify and delete tweets depicting abuse against women and children.

    In the summons to the Delhi police, the panel has sought an FIR in the matter.

    It has recommended that the children and women visible in the pornographic and rape videos be identified and assisted.

    The Delhi Police has also been asked to provide the number of similar tweets reported by Twitter in the past and whether FIRs were registered in connection with those and the accused arrested.

    The police have also been asked to inform about the steps taken by them to ensure that no such videos depicting child pornography or rape are present on Twitter.

  • Twitter ‘deliberately’ remained defiant to laws of the land: Centre tells Karnataka HC

    By PTI

    BENGALURU: The Centre has told the Karnataka High Court that Twitter “deliberately” remained non-compliant and defiant to the laws of the land and that the social media giant has no role to play in the security of the country.

    The submission was made by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in its 101-page statement of objections on Thursday while opposing the micro-blogging platform’s petition before the high court against the government’s takedown and blocking orders.

    On the claims by Twitter that political tweets were asked to be taken down, the Centre stated that it had only asked for unverified accounts to be blocked.

    ALSO READ | ‘Twitter knowingly allowed Indian government to place its agents on company payroll’: Whistleblower

    “The petitioner deliberately remained non-compliant and defiant to the laws of the land. Only on the diligent follow up of the respondent No.2(Centre) and upon the issuance of show cause notice dated 27.06.2022 the petitioner for reasons best known to it suddenly complied with all the blocking directions,” the Centre said while seeking dismissal of the petition.

    Twitter has challenged blocking orders for 39 URLs.

    The hearing in the case is slated to be held on September 8.

    In its petition, Twitter had claimed that freedom of speech is affected by the takedown notices of the government.

    The originators of the content on its platform were not issued notices before their content was asked to be taken down, it said.

    However, the government in its objections said that since Twitter was the intermediary, it was the microblogging site’s responsibility to inform the users.

    ALSO READ | Twitter planned to make money via monetizing porn on its platform

    “When a public order issue arises, it is the government that is responsible to take action and not the platform. Hence, whether content will cause national security or public order issues or not should not be allowed to be determined by the platforms.”

    The Centre submitted that any private policy or rules made by online platforms are subject to the Information Technology Act 2000.

    “Foreign platforms providing services in the country shall not be entitled to claim that the Indian laws and rules are not applicable upon them. Any such claim is legally untenable,” it said.

    The objections also called for dismissal of the petition on the ground that Twitter is not entitled to seek relief as it is not a citizen of India.

    “Article 21 rights are not available to artificial juristic entities, much less, to any foreign commercial entity. The present petition even if it attempts to allege breach of Article 21 rights, is therefore, not maintainable at the instance of the petitioner foreign company.”

    ALSO READ | Parliament panel grills Twitter officials over data security, privacy, says replies ‘not satisfactory’

    The government said it is its responsibility to protect over 84 crore Indians using Internet from anti-India propaganda, fake news and hate speech content.

    “These contents have the potential to jeopardize the peace in the country. Thus, it becomes essential to detect and block such misinformation content and fake news at the initial stage itself to prevent a public order catastrophe like situation in the country.”

    BENGALURU: The Centre has told the Karnataka High Court that Twitter “deliberately” remained non-compliant and defiant to the laws of the land and that the social media giant has no role to play in the security of the country.

    The submission was made by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in its 101-page statement of objections on Thursday while opposing the micro-blogging platform’s petition before the high court against the government’s takedown and blocking orders.

    On the claims by Twitter that political tweets were asked to be taken down, the Centre stated that it had only asked for unverified accounts to be blocked.

    ALSO READ | ‘Twitter knowingly allowed Indian government to place its agents on company payroll’: Whistleblower

    “The petitioner deliberately remained non-compliant and defiant to the laws of the land. Only on the diligent follow up of the respondent No.2(Centre) and upon the issuance of show cause notice dated 27.06.2022 the petitioner for reasons best known to it suddenly complied with all the blocking directions,” the Centre said while seeking dismissal of the petition.

    Twitter has challenged blocking orders for 39 URLs.

    The hearing in the case is slated to be held on September 8.

    In its petition, Twitter had claimed that freedom of speech is affected by the takedown notices of the government.

    The originators of the content on its platform were not issued notices before their content was asked to be taken down, it said.

    However, the government in its objections said that since Twitter was the intermediary, it was the microblogging site’s responsibility to inform the users.

    ALSO READ | Twitter planned to make money via monetizing porn on its platform

    “When a public order issue arises, it is the government that is responsible to take action and not the platform. Hence, whether content will cause national security or public order issues or not should not be allowed to be determined by the platforms.”

    The Centre submitted that any private policy or rules made by online platforms are subject to the Information Technology Act 2000.

    “Foreign platforms providing services in the country shall not be entitled to claim that the Indian laws and rules are not applicable upon them. Any such claim is legally untenable,” it said.

    The objections also called for dismissal of the petition on the ground that Twitter is not entitled to seek relief as it is not a citizen of India.

    “Article 21 rights are not available to artificial juristic entities, much less, to any foreign commercial entity. The present petition even if it attempts to allege breach of Article 21 rights, is therefore, not maintainable at the instance of the petitioner foreign company.”

    ALSO READ | Parliament panel grills Twitter officials over data security, privacy, says replies ‘not satisfactory’

    The government said it is its responsibility to protect over 84 crore Indians using Internet from anti-India propaganda, fake news and hate speech content.

    “These contents have the potential to jeopardize the peace in the country. Thus, it becomes essential to detect and block such misinformation content and fake news at the initial stage itself to prevent a public order catastrophe like situation in the country.”

  • Man arrested for running fake Twitter account of Bihar CMO 

    By PTI

    PATNA: A man was arrested for operating a fake Twitter account of the Bihar Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), police said on Thursday.

    The accused, identified as Arman Basher of East Champaran district, also used the official logo of the Chief Minister’s Secretariat in the account, they said.

    “Basher was arrested on Tuesday on the charges of running a fake twitter handle in the name of the office of chief minister of Bihar,” the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of the state police said.

    “The EOU registered an FIR in February this year after it came to the knowledge of the police that a fake twitter handle was being run in the name of CMO’s office,” it said.

    PATNA: A man was arrested for operating a fake Twitter account of the Bihar Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), police said on Thursday.

    The accused, identified as Arman Basher of East Champaran district, also used the official logo of the Chief Minister’s Secretariat in the account, they said.

    “Basher was arrested on Tuesday on the charges of running a fake twitter handle in the name of the office of chief minister of Bihar,” the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of the state police said.

    “The EOU registered an FIR in February this year after it came to the knowledge of the police that a fake twitter handle was being run in the name of CMO’s office,” it said.