3D printed Facebook and Twitter logos are placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken Jan. 21, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration A

Analysis: Frequent run-ins with India gov’t cloud U.S. tech expansion plans

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2021-06-11 18:30:14

3D printed Facebook and Twitter logos are placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken Jan. 21, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

Another spat between India’s government and U.S. big tech has exacerbated disillusion among firms which have spent billions to build hubs in their largest growth market, to the extent some are rethinking expansion plans, people close to the matter said.

The government on Saturday said Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) had not indicated compliance with new rules aimed at making social media firms more accountable to legal requests, and therefore risked losing liability exemptions for content posted on its platform.

Twitter joins compatriots Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O), Facebook Inc (FB.O) and Facebook-owned WhatsApp in long being at loggerheads with the administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over data privacy bills and policies some executives have called protectionist, but tension has escalated in recent weeks.

Police visited Twitter last month to notify it of a probe into the tagging of a political tweet as “manipulated media”, and in February interrogated an Amazon official about the potentially adverse social impact of a political drama. Meanwhile, WhatsApp is challenging the government in court over rules it said would force it to access encrypted data.