Thaw: Twitter blocks 97% handles, complies with govt request

New Delhi, Feb 12: In what appears to be a thaw in the tussle with the Government of India, Twitter has taken down 97 per cent of the handles that the IT ministry had sought to be censored for carrying inflammatory content relating to the farmer protests.

A Times of India report while quoting sources said that of the 1,435 handles flagged by the government, 1,398 have been taken down. The breakthrough came after IT secretary Ajay Sawhney met with Twitter executives on Wednesday, following which the social media giant began acting against the users.

Of the 257 handles that were sought to be blocked over the controversial hashtag, 220 have been taken down. Earlier Twitter had refused to comply with the government's requests. The IT secretary had expressed displeasure over the differential treatment by Twitter in handling of problems on Capitol Hill in the US and Red Fort in New Delhi.