Centre purging tweets puts people’s health at risk: Activists

The removal of dozens of tweets seen to be critical of the Indian government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic is putting people’s health at risk and quashing dissent, lawmakers and human rights activists said on Monday.

Twitter withheld some tweets after a legal request by the Indian government, a company spokeswoman told Reuters on Saturday. These included tweets from a lawmaker, a minister in Bengal, and a filmmaker.

“Suppression of information and criticism of government is not only dangerous for India but it is putting people around the world at risk,” said Mirza Saaib Beg, a lawyer whose tweets were among those withheld.