India asks Twitter to block posts critical of virus handling

Twitter Inc. has removed or restricted access to more than 50 posts in the past one month at the behest of the Indian government, including tweets that criticized its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, the Indian Express newspaper reported.

Other posts that were removed showed pictures and videos of a recent attack in Chhattisgarh carried out by Maoist guerrillas, the paper reported, citing disclosures made by the social media platform to the Lumen Database, which collects and analyzes legal complaints and requests for removal of online materials. Twitter reviews all "valid legal requests” they receive under the company’s laws and local rules, the spokesperson said in response to a request by Bloomberg News seeking comment.