ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has condemned the Indian government for forcing eminent social media platform Twitter to put a government agent on the firm’s payroll.

The Foreign Office said it was seriously concerned by the news that the Indian government had attempted to infiltrate the security system of Twitter, by forcing it to employ an Indian “agent/representative”.

As per media reports, the matter came up during Twitter’s briefing to India’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information and Technology where legal depositions made in the US by a former Twitter employee were also discussed.

“Regrettably, a large number of Twitter handles particularly those belonging to Kashmiri political leaders and media persons, continue to remain blocked due to India’s frivolous legal objections,” the foreign office said.

The statement added that only last month, Pakistan also registered its strong protest with the Indian government over the blocking of access to content of several Twitter handles of Pakistan’s diplomatic Missions as well as the national broadcaster Radio Pakistan.

“Pakistan deplores India’s brazen abuse of state-power and strong-arm tactics to manipulate and force-regulate the Internet sphere. These actions are not only against international standards, obligations, norms, and framework of flow of information but also reflect the alarming pace of shrinking space for pluralistic voices and curbing of fundamental freedoms in India,” the statement added.

Pakistan also called upon India to immediately reverse the blockage of Twitter accounts of Pakistan’s diplomatic missions and adhere to established international norms and standards of freedom of expression and desist from employing subterfuges to control the global internet domain.

India forced Twitter to hire agent

A former Twitter security chief has alleged that the Indian government forced the social media firm to put a government agent on the payroll, according to a whistleblower disclosure with US regulators.

Peiter ‘Mudge’ Zatko raised the issue with the US Securities and Exchange Commission among other security lapse claims at Twitter.

He said the government agent would have had access to sensitive user data due to Twitter’s weak security infrastructure, according to a redacted version of the complaint uploaded by the Washington Post newspaper and verified by Zatko’s attorney at Whistleblower Aid.

Twitter is engaged in a legal challenge against the Indian government after it asked a local court in July to overturn some government orders to remove content from the social media platform, and alleged abuse of power by officials.

“The company did not in fact disclose to users that it was believed by the executive team that the Indian government had succeeded in placing agents on the company payroll,” Zatko’s complaint noted.

The Washington Post report said that supporting information for Zatko’s claims had gone to the National Security Division of the US Justice Department and the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

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