‘No choice but to obey local govt’: Musk on free speech after Modi meet

Twitter does not have a choice but to obey the local government, said the social media firm’s owner Elon Musk, after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New York on the first day of the latter’s four-day state visit to the US.

Musk’s remarks came after he was asked about Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s allegations that the Indian government had threatened to shut down the social media platform for not complying with takedown orders during the farmers’ protest.

“We cannot apply America to Earth. Twitter does not have a choice but to obey the local government. If we don’t obey local laws then we will get shut down. We will do our best to provide the freest speech that is possible under the rule,” Musk said.

Meanwhile, 75 Democrats, including senators and members of the house of representatives, have written to US president Joe Biden, urging him to discuss with PM Modi concerns about press freedom, internet access, and religious intolerance in India.

“A series of independent, credible reports reflect troubling signs in India toward the shrinking of political space, the rise of religious intolerance, the targeting of civil society organisations and journalists, and growing restrictions on press freedoms and internet access,” said the letter, led by Senator Chris Van Hollen and Representative Pramila Jayapal, according to Reuters.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby earlier refused to comment on whether the US president would raise these issues but that it is “commonplace” for Biden to raise concerns about human rights, Reuters reported.