https://www.techdirt.com/2023/04/11/free-speech-twitter-is-now-globally-blocking-posts-critical-of-the-modi-government/ [ ] Techdirt. Free Speech [ ] * Sign In * Register * Preferences Techdirt [ ] * TechDirt * GreenHouse * Free Speech * Deals * Jobs * Support Techdirt [podcast-ti] Los Angeles Does Police Union's Dirty Work For It, Sues Person Over Public Records He Legally Obtained Techdirt Podcast Episode 350: The Data Transfer Initiative Free Speech Absolutist Elon Musk Reminds People He Laid Off That If They Disparage Him He May Sue Them 'Free Speech' Twitter Is Now Globally Blocking Posts Critical Of The Modi Government [defamation] Free Speech from the the-twitter-files-on-this-will-be-rich dept Tue, Apr 11th 2023 12:04pm - Mike Masnick A few weeks ago we wrote about how Elon Musk's Twitter was now blocking tweets in India at the request of the government. As we noted, there's a lot of important history here. India had demanded such blocking in early 2021 and the old regime at Twitter had pushed back strongly on it. After fighting about it, Twitter agreed to geoblock some tweets, but said it would not agree to do that for tweets from journalists, activists, or politicians. The company also filed a lawsuit claiming that the content removal demands were an abuse of power by the Modi government. This lawsuit is still ongoing. Of course, in the interim, Elon Musk became the owner of Twitter, and while he has kept the lawsuit going (for now), he had complained about Twitter's lawsuit when it first happened. When we wrote that story a few weeks ago about Elon's Twitter agreeing to block accounts of journalists, politicians, and activists, some of Musk's staunchest defenders in our comments insisted that the article was unfair, because Musk was doing the same thing that Twitter had done. Except that's false. The old Twitter explicitly refused to apply the geoblocks to journalists, activists, or politicians. Either way, Musk's Twitter has now taken it up a notch. Not only is it geoblocking such accounts, in some cases, it has now instituted a global block. That is, Musk's Twitter is willing to allow the Modi government to censor his critics globally, rather than just in India. The first known victim of this is Saurav Das, an investigative journalist in India. [image-11] As free speech activist, and occasional Techdirt contributor, Sarah McLaughlin notes, allowing India to dictate global speech rules is "a worst case scenario for free speech and content moderation." It's also the kind of thing that again calls into question the (always silly) claims from people that Elon Musk's focus with Twitter has anything to do with a principled stance on free speech. That's never been true, but this only serves to emphasize that fact. Meanwhile, Das is trying to find out why he's been blocked, and has filed a Right to Information application with the government to find out why his tweets were blocked, and why they were blocked globally, but doesn't seem hopeful that he'll find out. A Twitter that actually believed in free speech -- and not Elon's Musk's encapsulation of free speech as "that which matches the law" -- might want to step in and help Das. Somehow I doubt that's going to happen. Filed Under: censorship, elon musk, free speech, geoblocking, global block, india, narendra modi, saurav das Companies: twitter 15 CommentsLeave a Comment If you liked this post, you may also be interested in... * Los Angeles Does Police Union's Dirty Work For It, Sues Person Over Public Records He Legally Obtained * Teslas Are A Privacy Nightmare: Staff Regularly Shared Camera Recordings, Made Memes & Jokes At Customers' Expense * Now That Elon Musk Is Labeling NPR And The BBC As 'Government Funded,' Shouldn't He Do The Same For Tesla, SpaceX, And Twitter? * After Matt Taibbi Leaves Twitter, Elon Musk 'Shadow Bans' All Of Taibbi's Tweets, Including The Twitter Files * Indian Government Looking To Buy NSO-Esque Malware, But Not From NSO * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Rate this comment as insightful Rate this comment as funny You have rated this comment as insightful You have rated this comment as funny Flag this comment as abusive/trolling/spam You have flagged this comment The first word has already been claimed The last word has already been claimed Lightbulb icon Laughing icon Flag icon Lightbulb icon Laughing icon Comments on "'Free Speech' Twitter Is Now Globally Blocking Posts Critical Of The Modi Government" Subscribe: RSS Leave a comment * Filter comments in by Time * Filter comments as Threaded * Filter only comments rated Insightful * Filter only comments rated funny LOL * Filter only comments that are Unread 15 Comments Collapse all replies [20220227_PissedO]Stephen T. Stone (profile) says: April 11, 2023 at 12:08 pm I wonder which one of our trolls will jump in here and defend Musk as a beacon of the values of free speech and anti-censorship. Collapse replies (7) Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word Threaded [2] [e3166cfa85]Anonymous Coward says: April 11, 2023 at 12:18 pm Re: Matthew seems to have called more of his insurrectionist buddies to shit on every Twitter-related post, though most of them don't have his staying power. Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word Threaded [2] [0bd5c8db08]Anonymous Coward says: April 11, 2023 at 1:43 pm Re: How about just... not goading the trolls on? Do we need another 200+ comment troll-feeding frenzy? Collapse replies (1) Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word Threaded [3] [user-default]discussitlive (profile) says: April 11, 2023 at 3:26 pm Re: Re: not goading the trolls on? To date, I hadn't noticed they were any bastions of sanity or restraint. They don't need a reason; they are simply looking for an excuse. Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word Threaded [2] [24d03d0cee]Benjamin Jay Barber says: April 11, 2023 at 2:04 pm Re: Ackchually I am a first amendment litigant, and ultimately the choice of disobeying a court order == jail, and while perhaps elon musk has the balls to face criminal arrest, that doesn't mean that his indian employees do. To blame Musk for what the government is forcing him to do, is almost comical beyond belief however, while at the same time sanctioning the US government doing the same. I do not remember your specific post history, but if you were one of the Elon Musk "twitter files" apologists, then at least my views are more consistent than yours. Also I must add that its entirely possible that Indian people are just as censorious as American people, but that Americans might disagree with the Indians with regards to only which content they want censored or not. How do you feel about the practice of public self immolation (setting themselves on fire) for religious purposes? Collapse replies (2) Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word Threaded [3] [20220227_PissedO]Stephen T. Stone (profile) says: April 11, 2023 at 2:12 pm Re: Re: Musk made a decision to block certain tweets from being viewed outside of the jurisdiction of a given legal order. So far as I know, the power of the Indian government ends at the borders of India. What right does India have to tell a U.S. citizen that they shouldn't be able to view tweets that criticize the Indian government? Collapse replies (1) Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word Threaded [4] [d54f9a3071]Anonymous Coward says: April 11, 2023 at 3:36 pm Re: Re: Re: What right does the United States have to forbid extraterritorial sexual exploitation of children? The answer is that governments can pass any laws they want, and punish people in their territory any way they want. If India wants to threaten local Twitter employees with arrest if Twitter does not ban a tweet globally, they can do that. You don't have to like it, and if Twitter doesn't like it enough, they can fire all their Indian employees and leave the country, but until then, the threats of the Indian government are not toothless. Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word Threaded [2] [youarewrong-av]Thad (profile) says: April 11, 2023 at 3:31 pm Re: One? Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word This comment has been deemed insightful by the community. [0a44def8ec]Anonymous Coward says: April 11, 2023 at 12:16 pm Well, well, well. I guess Twitter should be considered a government news outlet now. Starting with India, then China, and Saudi Arabia once the inevitable boosting of propaganda happens. Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word This comment has been deemed insightful by the community. [user-default]Who Cares (profile) says: April 11, 2023 at 12:25 pm I wonder if the global block is due to not having the people and/or knowledge around anymore to do it per country. Oh well that is going to be fun when the Chinese, Russians, Saudis and and a whole gaggle of tin pot dictators are going to demand the same. And the party will really start when he makes an exception for a Nazi somewhere when the Germans ask for a country block/ban/removal for something that said Nazi wrote on Twitter. Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word This comment has been deemed insightful by the community. [7ec4bf82dc]Anonymous Coward says: April 11, 2023 at 12:57 pm Musk has taken a dangerous step, in that other Authoritarian leaders are going to demand that he does the same for them, Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word [5e550f5939]Anonymous Coward says: April 11, 2023 at 1:24 pm Wait... could somebody help me comprehend what's happening here.... Who seems to be globally censoring speech? And for what reason, too woke? Just waiting for all the trolls to start chiming in. Collapse replies (2) Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word Threaded [2] [f8aa11c89d]Anonymous Coward says: April 11, 2023 at 2:35 pm Re: The best help I can offer you is to tell you to go back to junior school and learn to read English, as the answers to your questions are in the article. Collapse replies (1) Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word Threaded [3] [30176bac44]Anonymous Coward says: April 11, 2023 at 2:47 pm Re: Re: The best help I can offer you is to learn to understand the difference between genuine questions and sarcasm. I am guessing that most people understood that as nothing more than troll bait. So maybe you should be the one to go back to at least grade school to learn some critical thinking skills. Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word [9ac6f051eb]Anonymous Coward says: April 11, 2023 at 3:29 pm i still think it's funny how he instantly rolls over for these requests but getting a dmca takedown? foh!!! Reply View in chronology Make this comment the first word Make this comment the last word --------------------------------------------------------------------- [] says: Add Your Comment Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Have a Techdirt Account? Sign in now. Want one? Register here Name [ ] Email [ ] [ ]Subscribe to the Techdirt Daily newsletter URL [ ] Subject [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Comment * [ ] Comment Options: (*)Use markdown. ( )Use plain text. Make this the ( )First Word or ( )Last Word.(*)No thanks. (get credits or sign in to see balance) what's this? What's this? Techdirt community members with Techdirt Credits can spotlight a comment as either the "First Word" or "Last Word" on a particular comment thread. Credits can be purchased at the Techdirt Insider Shop >> [Post Comment][Preview] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] D[ ] Los Angeles Does Police Union's Dirty Work For It, Sues Person Over Public Records He Legally Obtained Techdirt Podcast Episode 350: The Data Transfer Initiative Free Speech Absolutist Elon Musk Reminds People He Laid Off That If They Disparage Him He May Sue Them Follow Techdirt Techdirt Daily Newsletter [ ] [Subscribe] Essential Reading The Techdirt Greenhouse Read the latest posts: * Winding Down Our Latest Greenhouse Panel: The Lessons Learned From SOPA/PIPA * From The Revolt Against SOPA To The EU's Upload Filters * Did We Miss Our Best Chance At Regulating The Internet? Read All >> --------------------------------------------------------------------- Trending Posts * After Matt Taibbi Leaves Twitter, Elon Musk 'Shadow Bans' All Of Taibbi's Tweets, Including The Twitter Files * Mehdi Hasan Dismantles The Entire Foundation Of The Twitter Files As Matt Taibbi Stumbles To Defend It * Fox News On Its Way To Finding Out What 'Actual Malice' Means In Dominion's Defamation Lawsuit Techdirt Deals Techdirt Insider Discord The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel... Loading... Become an Insider! Recent Stories Tuesday 12:04 'Free Speech' Twitter Is Now Globally Blocking Posts Critical Of The Modi Government (15) Thursday 10:49 Free Speech Absolutist Elon Musk Reminds People He Laid Off That If They Disparage Him He May Sue Them (90) More arrow x Email This Story This feature is only available to registered users. You can register here or sign in to use it. Tools & Services * Twitter * Facebook * RSS * Podcast * Research & Reports Company * About Us * Advertising Policies * Privacy Contact * Help & Feedback * Media Kit * Sponsor / Advertise More * Copia Institute * Insider Shop * Support Techdirt Techdirt Brought to you by Floor64 Proudly powered by WordPress. Hosted by Pressable. [Got it] This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy