Thread by @internetfreedom

In keeping with a rising trend of arbitrary suspensions, Twitter has suspended actor and activist Sushant Singh (@sushant_says)'s account for the second time. We assisted him in drafting a representation to Twitter raising issues with its policies.
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internetfreedom.in/twitter-must-a…

Earlier, on February 1, access to Mr. Singh’s account was withheld without prior notice in response to a “legal demand”. Twitter later stated that access had been restricted due to a specific tweet. Mr. Singh deleted it, yet access was restored only after a lapse of 12 hours.
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Now on May 26, Mr. Singh's account was withheld in India in response to a legal demand again. No communication from Twitter was received regarding this. Though access was restored a few hours later, Mr. Singh has not received information about the situation to date.
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Mr. Singh is not alone - serious concerns regarding arbitrariness in content regulation by Twitter are rising, and they amount to private censorship. Despite a commitment to free speech, this deprives users of participation in the processes resulting in content takedowns.
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Twitter’s policies only require a notification to users like Mr. Singh identifying which content was withheld and the origin of request. There is no meaningful opportunity to contest such requests, and Twitter does not communicate why the content was found problematic.
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Twitter’s policy is also applied inconsistently. In some cases the takedown process is not accompanied by any notice. In many cases, the notice is not as per the terms of service. No specific details are provided to users about offending content or the legal demand.
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Twitter’s decisions on content regulation lack consistency with its own terms of service, undermining the transparency it seeks to uphold. The lack of adequate notice, besides being arbitrary, amounts to a shadow ban and disempowers users from seeking legal remedies.
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In the Letter, Mr. Singh has urged Twitter to provide information including the basis of his takedown notices, if it was due to a legal request from the government under the IT Act, the duration of suspension, and reasons for restricting access to the account in entirety.
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Takedown of content may be necessary in various situations to comply with applicable laws and to ensure that the platform protects the interests of its users, but it is necessary to ensure that users are treated fairly through this process to prevent chilling of free speech.
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We have called upon Twitter to stand by its beliefs and have an open dialogue on its policy of taking down content due to legal requests or in cases violations of community guidelines. This will standardise and improve Twitter's practices and strengthen user faith.
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