Indian Government’s Takedown Requests on Twitter

During the second half of 2020, the Indian government issued 128 takedown requests to Twitter, targeting journalists and news organizations, as per data provided by the microblogging platform. These requests accounted for 35% of the total legal demands made during that period.

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India’s takedown requests were followed by those from Turkey, Pakistan, and Russia. Overall, Twitter received over 38,500 legal demands in the same timeframe, pertaining to 131.9 million accounts.

Japan emerged as the top requester, contributing to 43% of all global requests received by Twitter. Following Japan, India accounted for approximately 7,000 demands, representing 18% of the total legal demands.

Concentration of Requests

Remarkably, 94% of the total global volume of legal demands originated from just five countries: Japan, India, Russia, Turkey, and South Korea. Twitter disclosed these statistics in its transparency report for the second half of 2020, covering the period from July to December.

Information Requests

In addition to takedown requests, the Indian government has positioned itself as a leader in issuing information requisitions to Twitter. Out of the total 14,561 information requests received by Twitter, India accounted for 3,600 such requests, surpassing countries like the United States, Japan, and France.

Comparison with Previous Periods

Although India led in information requests during the second half of 2020, the United States held the top position in the first half of the year. Across the entirety of 2020, from January to December, the US issued the highest number of information requests, highlighting the ongoing significance of Twitter as a platform for government interaction and scrutiny.