Twitter, the popular social media platform is at the center of a big censorship controversy after facing heavy backlash from governments across the globe. The Nigerian government has outright banned Twitter’s use after the platform deleted the President’s tweet. The government has cut all cellular connections for the social media platform post its actions.
NIGERIA: Twitter ban continues as telecommunications networks cut access
— The Spectator Index (@spectatorindex) June 5, 2021
India, one of the largest markets for Twitter has also made its displeasure known to the social media giant after it failed to comply with the latest IT regulations proposed by the country’s central government. The situation escalated after Twitter failed to respond to the non-compliance notice, following which a Police team was sent out to the Indian office of the social media company. Today, the government has issued a last warning to comply with the new rules, following which strict action may be initiated.
The controversy around Twitter’s censorship policies started during the last US elections when the social media platform banned the account of former President Donald Trump while being in office. Twitter cited Trump’s speech as the catalyst behind last year’s Capitol Hill attack as the reason behind the indefinite ban. However, many called out Twitter’s action as extreme and uncalled for.
If Twitter continues to censor state heads and fails to comply with state government policies, it might face a similar ban like Nigeria in India and other nations as well.
Jack Dorsey Heckled at Bitcoin Conference Over Twitter’s Censorship Policies
Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter who is a big-time Bitcoin proponent was attending the Bitcoin Conference in Miami and was heckled by an individual over Twitter’s censorship policies.
JUST IN – Twitter's CEO Jack Dorsey heckled over censorship during an #Bitcoin event.pic.twitter.com/DmebShinG0
— Disclose.tv 🚨 (@disclosetv) June 4, 2021
Many argue that being a private company Twitter has every right to ban and delete tweets that violate its policies and guidelines, while many on the other side argue that being a publisher, the company cant act as a moderator at the same time.
Social media platforms especially the likes of Twitter and Facebook with their reach penetrating across countries, it is important to be censorship-resistant. The fact that Dorsey himself is a big Bitcoin proponent, it’s time he brings in some of the core values of Bitcoin into how companies policies.
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