Twitter has suspended several accounts, including two that were at the centre of the demonstrations against the three farm regulations that have since been repealed: Kisan Ekta Morcha and Tractor2twitr. These accounts, which have a combined following of a

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Twitter has suspended several accounts, including two that were at the centre of the demonstrations against the three farm regulations that have since been repealed: Kisan Ekta Morcha and Tractor2twitr. These accounts, which have a combined following of about 5 lakh, were also criticised by the government and banned from Twitter last year for allegedly disseminating "disinformation."

Digital Desk: Some of the impacted parties are considering taking legal action after Twitter disabled more than 80 links over the weekend, including tweets and accounts. Popular accounts affected include that of writer Rana Ayyub, activist Amaan Bali, a Sikh from Kashmir, and two handles associated with the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, a confederation of agricultural groups (SKM).

The owners of "withheld" accounts assert that they received letters, but without any further explanation, alerting them that Twitter had taken the measure to comply with "local regulations" under the Information Technology Act 2000.

Amaan Bali told the media that the government had "singled out" him and other account holders because they have been resisting it. He said that other account holders and he are "in talks."

We might go to court together," he said, adding that he wasn't sure how much this would assist because it was hard to get the facts because of the "anonymity and vagueness" of the accusations that led to the blocking of accounts.

SKM spokesperson Harinder Happy added that the group was contemplating legal action but that they wanted to spread awareness of the claimed "arbitrary actions" of the government in the interim.

A notification that states "account withheld" signifies that Twitter "was compelled to withhold the whole account named in response to a valid legal demand, such as a court order," according to Twitter.

According to Twitter's rules, accounts may need to be withheld in response to a "legitimate and adequately scoped request from an authorised party.

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (I&B) stated earlier this year that the government would hold media outlets and social media accounts responsible if they disseminated false information or material that endangered national security.

Harinder Happy claimed in an interview with ThePrint that the account holders received no warnings or information other than a "random email" informing them that they had broken the IT Act.

"These arbitrary government acts are a sign of their attempts to discredit those who disagree with them and their ideas. We are debating how to pursue a legal option so that we could at least fully comprehend the situation. he said.

Amaan Bali, who is well-known for his writing on "Sikh concerns," claimed he thought he was the target not just for his views but also for his influence.

Bali claimed that his contributions "did not set good with not only this government but even the previous one."

Bali stated he did not have great hopes of the legal system, despite the fact that he is contemplating going to court.

"In the past, none of these legal choices helped anyone... Months of judicial proceedings can be challenging to endure, Bali said, adding that he intended to emphasise "Sikh tales" and make his voice heard on other platforms.

Shashi Shekhar Vempati, the former CEO of the public broadcaster Prasar Bharati, also received a notification from Twitter. Last year, his account had also been temporarily disabled.

Vempati claims that because he had tweeted about a "incendiary hashtag" that called for government action, his handle was "wrongly withheld" at the time. He continued, saying that the identical tweets "appear" to have been blocked this time.

In his opinion, Twitter lacks the ability to distinguish between "the culprits and those who attracted attention to the perpetrators," he claimed. He claimed to have raised the matter in writing with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

Social media crackdowns have been attributed by some digital rights advocates and attorneys to the contentious new IT Rules that were announced last year.

Siddharth Chandrashekhar, an attorney at the Bombay High Court, claimed that the new regulations allowed the government "broad powers" to deal with suspected non-compliance and placed "multiple rigorous compliance limits" on social media giants.

In the right hands, rules may be a powerful instrument for influencing social media. But in the present situation, it looks that the government has overstepped its bounds and abused the laws," he stated.