Micro-blogging site slow to act on take-down requests: official

The Centre has asked microblogging site Twitter to furnish telephone numbers and other identifiable sources that could help track suspicious accounts, as asked for by law enforcement agencies, a senior Home Ministry official said.

Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba on Monday pulled up Twitter representatives for being slow to act on the government’s requests to take down content and accounts that incite communal violence.

The Centre has stepped up interactions with social media platforms to arrest the spread of rumours inciting unrest and other activities detrimental to national security. Twitter representatives told the Ministry officials that allowing only verified accounts would hit free speech.