Why An Indian Court Is Questioning Twitter Over Donald Trump Ban

Twitter Inc TWTR has come under fire in India for not doing enough to stop disparaging posts centered around Hindu gods.

What Happened: The Delhi High Court on Monday asked Twitter why it could not act against objectionable content against Hindu gods or goddesses, while it could suspend former U.S. President Donald Trump's account, according to a report from the Indian daily Hindustan Times.

A two-judge bench of the court asked Twitter to explain how it undertook the blocking of accounts and noted instances where individuals had been blocked for similar instances in the past involving other religions, according to the report. 

The hearing was centered around posts by a user named “AtheistRepublic” who had posted about a Hindu goddess.

When Twitter reportedly said it couldn’t block users without court orders, the court said, “if this is the logic, then why have you blocked Mr. Trump?”

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Why It Matters: The court said that prima facie, Twitter’s stand that it cannot block accounts was not “entirely correct,” reported the Hindustan Times.

The court said it ultimately boiled down to what Twitter found sensitive.

“You are not bothered about sensitivities of other people in other regions of the world, of ethnicities. We dare say that if these kinds of things were done in relation to another religion, you would be much more careful, more sensitive,” said the court, according to the Hindustan Times.

Recently, Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk questioned if it was time to establish an alternative to Twitter given the latter’s failure to “adhere to free speech principles.” Musk has said that he was giving “serious thought” to building a Twitter alternative. 

Last year, India accused Twitter of dominating and maligning the country in order to conceal its wrongdoings. At the time, police in the country had swooped down on the company’s New Delhi offices. 

Price Action: On Monday, Twitter shares closed 1.35% higher at $39.12 in the regular session and fell 0.3% in the after-hours trading. 

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Photo: Courtesy of Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia