NEW DELHI- The Parliamentary Committee on Information Technology on Feb 11 yet again summoned Twitter’s Global CEO Jack Dorsey to appear before it on February 25 over allegations of the social media site discriminating against “nationalist” posts on its platform. The parliamentary panel headed by Bharatiya Janata Party Lok Sabha MP Anurag Thakur had summoned the Twitter CEO to appear before it on Feb 11,
but Twitter sent a team of its officials led by its India and South Asia Policy Director Mahima Kaul.
The panel refused to hear the officials and they were kept waiting outside the meeting room. “All the members took such disregard for the Committee by Twitter very seriously. What was the point in hearing those officials who have no authority?” an informed source said. “We want to give them (Twitter) another chance. The CEO will be summoned to appear before the panel on February 25,” he said. The panel also discussed widening the scope of its enquiry and may also summon the top brass of other social media and messaging sites including Facebook, WhatsApp and others, sources said. The panel is mulling to hold a meeting on February 26 too in which it may call other social media players.
Twitter on Feb 8 said it is proactively working with the political parties to verify candidates, elected officials and relevant party officials whose accounts will be active in the public conversation.
According to Colin Crowell, Global Vice President, Public Policy at Twitter, India is one of its fastest-growing audience markets globally. “We are committed to surfacing all sides of the conversation as we enter the election season in this extraordinarily diverse cultural, political and social climate,” Crowell said in a statement.
“We have never been more passionate about our mission to serve our Indian customers and to protect and enhance the national conversation,” he added.
According to him, Twitter does not review, prioritise or enforce its policies on the basis of political ideology.
“Every Tweet and every account is treated impartially. We apply our policies fairly and judiciously for all,” said Crowell. According to the company, political parties themselves select the accounts for verification and then Twitter reviews these accounts to ensure they meet the company’s verification standards.
“Twitter verifies these accounts to empower healthy election conversations and to provide confidence that these public figures are whom they claim to be,” the company added.
Globally, Twitter has made more than 70 product, policy and operational changes since the beginning of 2018, with the aim of making people feel safe expressing themselves on the service.
Crowell said that Twitter will endeavour to be even more transparent in how it develops and enforces its policies to “dispel conspiracy theories and mistrust”.
The Parliament’s Standing Committeeon IT has 21 members from Lok Sabha that include Hema Malini, Prasun Banerjee, L.K. Advani, Raosaheb Patil Danve and others and 10 members from Rajya Sabha that includes Raj Babbar, Beni Prasad Verma and Subhash Chandra. Refusing to participate in a constructive dialog with the Indian government has actually made the road ahead difficult for Twitter.
The panel refused to hear the officials and they were kept waiting outside the meeting room. “All the members took such disregard for the Committee by Twitter very seriously. What was the point in hearing those officials who have no authority?” an informed source said. “We want to give them (Twitter) another chance. The CEO will be summoned to appear before the panel on February 25,” he said. The panel also discussed widening the scope of its enquiry and may also summon the top brass of other social media and messaging sites including Facebook, WhatsApp and others, sources said. The panel is mulling to hold a meeting on February 26 too in which it may call other social media players.
Twitter on Feb 8 said it is proactively working with the political parties to verify candidates, elected officials and relevant party officials whose accounts will be active in the public conversation.
According to Colin Crowell, Global Vice President, Public Policy at Twitter, India is one of its fastest-growing audience markets globally. “We are committed to surfacing all sides of the conversation as we enter the election season in this extraordinarily diverse cultural, political and social climate,” Crowell said in a statement.
“We have never been more passionate about our mission to serve our Indian customers and to protect and enhance the national conversation,” he added.
According to him, Twitter does not review, prioritise or enforce its policies on the basis of political ideology.
“Every Tweet and every account is treated impartially. We apply our policies fairly and judiciously for all,” said Crowell. According to the company, political parties themselves select the accounts for verification and then Twitter reviews these accounts to ensure they meet the company’s verification standards.
“Twitter verifies these accounts to empower healthy election conversations and to provide confidence that these public figures are whom they claim to be,” the company added.
Globally, Twitter has made more than 70 product, policy and operational changes since the beginning of 2018, with the aim of making people feel safe expressing themselves on the service.
Crowell said that Twitter will endeavour to be even more transparent in how it develops and enforces its policies to “dispel conspiracy theories and mistrust”.
The Parliament’s Standing Committeeon IT has 21 members from Lok Sabha that include Hema Malini, Prasun Banerjee, L.K. Advani, Raosaheb Patil Danve and others and 10 members from Rajya Sabha that includes Raj Babbar, Beni Prasad Verma and Subhash Chandra. Refusing to participate in a constructive dialog with the Indian government has actually made the road ahead difficult for Twitter.
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