Twitter has banned 6,82,420 accounts in India for violation of platform guidelines between January 26 and February 25. The reason why these accounts were taken down were mainly for promoting child sexual exploitation and non-consensual nudity.
In the monthly report, in compliance with the IT Rules, 2021, Twitter further revealed that it took down 1,548 accounts for promoting terrorism in the country. It received 73 complaints from users in India in February through the grievance redressal mechanisms. The microblogging platform processed 27 grievances that were appealing account suspensions.
Twitter stated, “We overturned 10 of these account suspensions after reviewing the specifics of the situation. The remaining reported accounts remain suspended.” It added, “We also received 24 requests related to general questions about Twitter accounts during this reporting period.”
Under the new IT Rules 2021, all digital and social media platforms that have more than 5 million users are required to submit a monthly compliance report giving all the required details. These platforms include Twitter, WhatsApp, YouTube, Facebook and more.
Twitter CEO had recently announced that all the legacy verified Twitter accounts will soon lose their blue checkmark starting April 1. While some might still have the blue check, Twitter is gradually removing it for all legacy accounts.
Top 10,000 Twitter Accounts Get Some Benefits
Twitter has decided that it will offer free blue checkmarks to select accounts on the platform. It will waive off the $1,000 (Rs 82,000) monthly fee for its verification program to the top 500 advertisers and the top 10,000 organizations based on their number of followers.
With its new Verification for Organisations program, companies will get to keep their verified status at a monthly cost of $1,000 and denote specific accounts as “affiliated” for an additional $50 per month. This will allow users to easily identify verified accounts on the platform so that they can consume legitimate and credible information.
Impersonation can also be minimised with this program if the organizations agree to pay for blue checkmarks for their employees as well.
However, many organizations might not agree to do so. As per a recent report, White House has refused to pay for Twitter Blue for its staff members. It suggests that White House Director of Digital Strategy, Rob Flaherty, sent an email to staffers informing them of the change.
Also Read: Why top organisations, celebrities don't want to pay Elon Musk for Twitter Blue verified tick
Also Read: ChatGPT jobs: Employees offered salaries over Rs 2.50 crore a year to chat with AI chatbots