India has been one of the most active countries in requesting Twitter to remove content and to seek access to user data, according to Twitter’s latest transparency report. The report covers the period from July 1 to December 31, 2021.
During this period, India made 1,199 legal demands to Twitter, which is the third-highest after Japan and the United States. The Indian government also made 8,395 non-legal requests to Twitter, which is the second-highest after the United States.
The report stated that Twitter had complied with 49% of the legal demands and 19% of the non-legal requests made by the Indian government.
The report also revealed that globally, Twitter received a total of 31,841 legal demands and 46,613 non-legal requests from governments, law enforcement agencies, and individuals during the period under review. The company complied with 36% of the legal demands and 35% of the non-legal requests.
Twitter has faced criticism from free speech advocates and civil rights groups for its compliance with government requests to remove content and provide user data. However, the company has maintained that it follows the law in the countries where it operates and strives to protect the privacy and free expression rights of its users.
India is one of the most active nations in terms of requesting Twitter to remove content and asking for access to user data. According to Twitter’s Transparency Report, India made the most legal demands for content removal in the first half of 2021, with a total of 5,502 requests. This was followed by Turkey with 4,464 requests and Russia with 3,168 requests.
In addition to content removal requests, India also made 1,008 requests for account information, which was the fourth-highest in the world after the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom. India’s requests for account information increased by 11% compared to the second half of 2020.
Twitter’s Transparency Report is released biannually and provides information on the number of legal demands the company receives from governments and other authorized entities to remove content or disclose user data. Twitter evaluates each request on a case-by-case basis and complies with the requests that are consistent with the company’s policies and applicable law.