Twitter Bans Over 25 Lakh Accounts In India For Violating Guidelines

Twitter has revealed that it had banned an unprecedented number of accounts in India. Between March 26 and April 25, the social media platform took down a staggering 25,53,881 accounts in the country for their involvement in promoting child sexual exploitation, non-consensual nudity and terrorism.

This remarkable figure was reported in Twitter's monthly compliance report, which is part of its adherence to India's new IT Rules of 2021. As per the rules, major digital and social media platforms with more than 5 million users are obligated to publish these reports on a monthly basis, showcasing their compliance with the regulations.

During the specified timeframe, Twitter received a mere 158 user complaints from India via its grievance redressal mechanisms. The majority of these complaints were related to abuse/harassment (83), followed by sensitive adult content (41), hateful conduct (19), and defamation (12).

Regarding account suspensions, Twitter processed four grievances, leading to the overturning of three suspensions after reviewing the specific circumstances. However, the remaining reported accounts remain suspended.

Surprisingly, no general inquiries about Twitter accounts were received during the reporting period, indicating a relatively low number of non-compliance or account-related queries from Indian users.

In addition to the account bans, Twitter's report stated that the platform approved approximately 83 percent of government requests to either restrict or block content globally. This included requests from countries such as India and Turkey.