Explained: Why Andhra Pradesh HC warned Twitter to either follow the law of the land or face action

The bench warned Twitter that it was in contempt of court by not taking any action to remove the content it had been directed to pull down, and action could be taken against the company.

What were these comments posted on Twitter?

In October 2020, the HC had directed the CBI to investigate some comments allegedly made by supporters and leaders of the ruling YSR Congress Party on social media against the court and some judges following a few judgments, stays, and orders that were seen as a setback to the government.

These orders or judgments included a stay on the government’s decision on decentralisation and creating three separate capitals for the state; reinstating then State Election Commissioner N Ramesh Kumar who was removed by the state government for postponing municipal polls in March 2020 over Covid-19 protocols; and a stay on introducing English as medium of instruction in all schools.

While directing the CBI to investigate, the HC observed that it had been aware of these derogatory posts since April 2020. It had directed the Registrar to lodge a complaint with the CID to investigate the comments. However, when the CID failed to file a case, the HC handed over the case to the CBI.

What happened after the case was taken over by the CBI?

The CBI gave a list of URLs to Twitter, requesting that they be removed. The agency also arrested at least five persons who were allegedly behind the posts and comments on Twitter, and questioned one ruling party MLA and MP seeking information about their supporters who may have posted some of the comments.

What does Twitter have to say in its defence?

The CBI stated in the court that Twitter did not properly comply. It stated that while the objectionable posts were not visible to a Twitter user in India, they could still be seen by anyone who logged on from outside the country.

Counsel for Twitter submitted that the platform had abided by the directions of the court and CBI, and had removed all the content deemed objectionable. As for the posts being visible outside the country, Twitter stated that the platform was built in that way, just like all the other social media platforms.

However, the judges pointed out that YouTube took down all the URLs given by CBI regarding the offensive posts, and they were no longer visible in other countries. The bench warned Twitter that it would initiate action if the URLs continued to be visible outside India. The court directed the CBI to submit a report on the progress of investigation and posted the matter for February 7.

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