'Employees safety top priority': Twitter reaches out to govt for formal dialogue after notice

Twitter Inc has reached out to the government for a formal dialogue. It said that safety of its employees is top priority. The reaction comes after the government asked the social media giant to remove over a thousand more accounts for alleged spreading of misinformation and provocative content about the farmers' protest.

"Safety of our employees is a top priority for us at Twitter. We continue to be engaged with the Government of India from a position of respect and have reached out to the Honourable Minister, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology for a formal dialogue," a Twitter spokesperson said.

Twitter acknowledged receiving the non-compliance notice from the government. The Centre had asked the company to take down 1,178 listed handles with Pakistan and Khalistan links. The non-compliance notice said that the social media platform is yet to completely comply with the order.

The company said in its latest statement, "We strongly believe that the open and free exchange of information has a positive global impact, and that the Tweets must continue to flow." It added that the company takes appropriate steps regarding such reports and also makes sure it holds firm the fundamental values and commitment to protect the public conversation.

On January 31, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had sent a list of 257 handles and tweets to be blocked. Twitter blocked these accounts for a few hours and then unblocked them shortly after. On February 4, the ministry issued a fresh list of Khalistan sympathisers, ones that are supported by Pakistan, and ones that threatened public order amid the farmers' protest.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey had liked several tweets by international celebrities on farmers' protests.

Also read: Twitter India public policy head Mahima Kaul resigns

Also read: Farmers' protests: Centre asks Twitter to block 1,178 more accounts with Khalistan, Pakistan links