--- description: Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has alleged the Indian government previously threatened to shut the platform and raid employees' homes. title: Why Ex-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey Is Clashing with India's Government image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2ec2aa1f5cb4d5ad/698a3dd4cabb1dab6fe517d9/GettyImages-1233275115.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Why Twitter Co-Founder Jack Dorsey Is Clashing with India's Government  by [Astha Rajvanshi](/author/astha-rajvanshi/)  ## Astha Rajvanshi Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 13, 2023 4:15 PM CUT  Jack Dorsey speaks during the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami, Florida, U.S., on Friday, June 4, 2021. Jack Dorsey speaks during the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami, Florida, U.S., on Friday, June 4, 2021.Eva Marie Uzcategui—Bloomberg/Getty Images  by [Astha Rajvanshi](/author/astha-rajvanshi/)  ## Astha Rajvanshi Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 13, 2023 4:15 PM CUT Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey accused the Indian government of censoring content and threatening to shut the platform down while he was CEO of the company, during an interview on Monday. “India, for example, was a country that had many requests around the farmers’ protests, around particular journalists that were critical of the government,” Dorsey [told](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS7xmb3UhCU&ab%5Fchannel=BreakingPoints "undefined") the hosts of the U.S. YouTube show, _Breaking Points_. Referring to the farmers’ protests in 2021, when farmers opposed new agriculture laws that were later repealed by the government, he said: “It manifested in ways such as: ‘We will shut Twitter down in India,’ which is a very large market for us; ‘We will raid the homes of your employees,’ which they did; ‘We will shut down your offices if you don’t follow suit.’” “And this is India, a democratic country,” he continued. The Indian government, which is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, vehemently denied the allegations and accused Twitter of violating the law. In a Twitter post on June 13, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, India’s deputy minister for information technology, called Dorsey’s claims an “outright lie” and suggested it was an attempt to “brush out” a “very dubious period of Twitter’s history.” --- ### More from TIME --- “No one went to jail nor was Twitter ‘shut down’. Dorsey’s Twitter regime had a problem accepting the sovereignty of Indian law. It behaved as if the laws of India did not apply to it,” he wrote in the [lengthy tweet](https://twitter.com/Rajeev%5FGoI/status/1668455627319033857?s=20 "undefined"). Several members of the opposition Congress Party are calling out the government in response. In a public statement, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal called Dorsey’s claim “alarming and shocking” and [suggested](https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1668527729208348672?s=20 "undefined") that similar pressures may have motivated the temporary [suspension](https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/twitters-denial-after-congress-says-rahul-gandhis-account-suspended-2505226 "undefined") of opposition leader Rahul Gandhi’s Twitter account in 2021. **Read More:** [_Why Twitter Blocked Accounts Linked to Farmers’ Protests in India—Only to Reverse Course_](https://time.com/5935003/india-farmers-protests-twitter/ "undefined") Although Dorsey stepped down as CEO in 2021, his comments relating to the 2021 incident resurface the strained relationship between Twitter and the Indian government. In 2021, Twitter [complied](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-farms-protests-twitter-idUSKBN2A12J9 "undefined") with the Indian government’s orders to remove anti-government content during the farmers’ protests. It later restored most of the censored accounts, citing “insufficient justification.” In May of that year, the police [raided](https://consent.yahoo.com/v2/collectConsent?sessionId=3%5Fcc-session%5F892fefea-a509-40d5-b054-d896592747a5 "undefined") Twitter’s office after the company labeled a tweet by Modi’s party spokesman as “manipulated media.” In July 2022, it was [reported](https://apnews.com/article/twitter-indian-government-modi-e24603de39c7e3e118313baa97f31fac "undefined") that Twitter had filed a lawsuit against the Indian government in the southern state of Karnataka after it allegedly threatened company executives with criminal action if they failed to comply with takedown orders over 39 tweets and accounts, the details of which are under seal. Neither Twitter nor the Indian government confirmed the reports at the time, but the lawsuit followed a new set of sweeping regulations passed by India’s government to police platforms, which it [said](https://www.reuters.com/world/india/exclusive-heated-meeting-india-seeks-tougher-action-us-tech-giants-fake-news-2022-02-02/ "undefined") was necessary to tackle disinformation and hate speech online. Dorsey’s comments also come at a time when the debate around Twitter’s role in supporting freedom of expression has intensified after billionaire Elon Musk purchased the platform last year. As TIME previously [reported](https://time.com/6230338/twitter-india-elon-musk-free-speech/ "undefined"), Musk’s takeover of Twitter prompted speculation about the company changing its stance on India after it fired some 90% of the roughly 200 India-based staff shortly after the acquisition. **Read More:** [_Elon Musk Has Inherited Twitter’s India Problem_](https://time.com/6230338/twitter-india-elon-musk-free-speech/ "undefined") In January this year, Twitter complied with orders from the Indian government to censor posts sharing links to a [controversial](https://time.com/6249393/the-modi-question-documentary-bbc-india-controversy/ "undefined") BBC documentary about Modi. Two months later, it blocked the accounts of more than 100 prominent politicians, activists, and journalists in India and abroad as the government conducted a [manhunt](https://time.com/6265630/india-amritpal-singh-sikh-punjab-khalistan/ "undefined") for a local Sikh separatist leader. While Modi and his ministers actively post on Twitter, free speech activists have [voiced concerns](https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/twitters-legal-challenge-to-centres-takedown-orders-flags-issues-of-free-speech-8013551/ "undefined") over the government’s censorship of any criticism under the guise of national security. This year, India’s ranking in the [World Press Freedom Index](https://rsf.org/en/index "undefined") slipped from 140 to 161 out of 180 countries, according to the latest report released by global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF). “While we must all demand accountability from Silicon Valley platforms, that must not enable unconstitutional power grabs,” Apar Gupta, the Founding Director of the non-profit Internet Freedom Foundation, [tweeted](https://twitter.com/apar1984/status/1668477617857601537 "undefined") in response to the latest Twitter allegations. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6286814/india-twitter-jack-dorsey-clash/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6286814/india-twitter-jack-dorsey-clash/"},"headline":"Why Twitter Co-Founder Jack Dorsey Is Clashing with India's Government","datePublished":"2023-06-13T16:15:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:53:03.369Z","description":"Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has alleged the Indian government previously threatened to shut down the platform and raid employees' homes.","url":"https://time.com/6286814/india-twitter-jack-dorsey-clash/","keywords":["Tech","Social Media","India","biztech2030"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2ec2aa1f5cb4d5ad/698a3dd4cabb1dab6fe517d9/GettyImages-1233275115.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Astha Rajvanshi","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/astha-rajvanshi/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2ec2aa1f5cb4d5ad/698a3dd4cabb1dab6fe517d9/GettyImages-1233275115.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Jack Dorsey","caption":"jack-dorsey","creditText":"Eva Marie Uzcategui—Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6286814/india-twitter-jack-dorsey-clash/","name":"Why Twitter Co-Founder Jack Dorsey Is Clashing with India's Government"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Watch: A Legacy of TIME100 Pioneers","description":"Billie Eilish, Gregory Robinson and Sandra Oh have all been TIME100 Pioneers—examples of what it takes to be a leader who pioneers new ways of thinking in the world.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/OKBbLLJa/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2023-04-12T12:00:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/OKBbLLJa.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/6286814/india-twitter-jack-dorsey-clash/","duration":"PT2M56S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/6286814/india-twitter-jack-dorsey-clash/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```