A notice has been issued by the ministry of electronics and IT to social media giant Twitter seeking an explanation in five days as to why no legal action should be taken against it for disrespecting India’s territorial integrity.
The development comes after Twitter showed Leh as part of Jammu and Kashmir instead of the Union Territory of Ladakh.
A notice in this regard sent to Twitter’s global vice president termed the mistake a “deliberate attempt to undermine the will of sovereign Parliament of India” that declared Leh as the headquarters of Ladakh Union Territory.
Hindustan Times quoted a Twitter spokesperson as saying: “Twitter remains committed to partnering with the Government of India and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to serve the public conversation. We have duly responded to the letter and, as part of our correspondence, shared a comprehensive update with the latest developments regarding the geo-tag issue.”
However, this is not the first time the micro-blogging giant has shown an incorrect map of India.
Earlier, it had displayed Leh as a part of China, following which the IT secretary wrote to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey raising objections. It later replaced China with Jammu and Kashmir. However, it has not yet corrected the map to show Leh as part of Ladakh.
Industry watchers said in case Twitter failed to fall in line, access to the social media platform in India could be banned under Section 69A of the IT Act.
Also, the government could file an FIR under Criminal Law (Amendment) Act that has a punishment of up to six months of imprisonment.
