‘Playing with fire’: Twitter’s India snub sparks debate on compliance, free speech

Twitter Inc’s refusal to comply with an Indian government directive to block more than 250 accounts and posts has put the social media giant at the centre of a political firestorm in one of its key markets.

Government officials, business people and ordinary netizens are split over free speech and the U.S. company’s compliance practices, in a controversy that comes soon after Twitter’s top lobbyist in India resigned.

The showdown, after the firm this week “declined to abide (by) and obey” the order to remove posts and accounts that the government said risked inciting violence, is the latest instance of worsening relationships between Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration and U.S. social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp.