An Indian parliamentary panel on Wednesday (Oct. 28) accused Twitter of disrespecting India’s sovereignty by mapping data that included the Indian-controlled Ladakh region as part of China, though it quickly corrected the error.
Ladakh is located along the India-China border in the Himalayas, and has long been embroiled in geopolitical disputes between India and China. In June of this year, India and China clashed there in the worst bloodshed between the two countries in 45 years, making Ladakh the most publicized location of the border conflict between the two countries.
When the Indian Parliament’s joint committee examined India’s Personal Data Prrotection Bill on Wednesday, some members questioned Indian Twitter executives present about the geotagging of tweets. Last week, it was discovered that Twitter geotags listed Ladakh as part of China. The Twitter director in the room immediately explained and said that Twitter had quickly corrected the mistake.
But committee chairman Meenakshi Lekhi, from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, told Reuters that the committee unanimously agreed that Twitter’s explanation was inadequate.
Lekhi said the tweet showed respect for the sensitivity (of the issue) and that the tweet did not go far enough and that “this is a matter of India’s sovereignty and national integrity”.
Lackey also said that showing Ladakh as part of China constituted a criminal offense that could result in a seven-year prison sentence, the Hindustan Times reported Wednesday.
A Twitter spokeswoman responded to Lackey’s claims by saying that Twitter is committed to openness and transparency in its work and will continue to be in regular contact with the Indian government to share timely and updated information.
In June, at least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in border clashes between Chinese and Indian soldiers in Ladakh, but the Chinese have not released the exact number of casualties. Since then, the two countries have continued to spar over the border issue.
The two sides have held seven rounds of talks at the level of military chiefs to ease tensions along the disputed India-China border. The two countries’ defense ministers met in Moscow on September 4 to resolve the territorial dispute under Russia’s mediation, but the India-China border issue remains unresolved and hostile to each other. The Chinese have no intention of withdrawing their troops at this time, while India is increasing its winter preparations, just in case.
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