In an affidavit issued on September 6, 2022, Twitter argued that it could not decide if the content was legal or not unless it was "put to such actual knowledge."
According to Twitter, there are two possible ways for content to be removed from its platform. The first is through the violation of its User Agreement. The second is through the adjudication "by a court or notified by an appropriate agency."
Twitter said it had previously suspended the Atheist Republic's official Twitter account, @Atheist Republic, for violating its terms of service on January 4, 2022.
Twitter also implemented a Ban Evasion policy against Atheist Republic, which "prohibits attempts to circumvent prior enforcement, including through the creation of new accounts."
The Timeline
In July 2021, Aditya Singh Deshwal, a Delhi-based lawyer, filed a complaint against Twitter for allowing the Atheist Republic to post objectionable images. Deshwal directed the complaint to Manish Maheshwari, the Managing Director of Twitter India.
Deshwal accused Maheshwari of allowing the Atheist Republic's offensive posts. "Deliberately, no action has been taken by Manish Maheshwari," Deshwal lamented on his complaint.
According to Deshwal, Atheist Republic has willfully outraged and hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus. He added that Twitter is an accomplice by intentionally not removing the offensive content.
Deshwal's lawsuit came after the Atheist Republic tweeted an image of the Hindu goddess, Kali.
https://atheistrepublic.creator-spring.com/listing/SexyGoddessKali?
On March 28, 2022, Vipin Sanghi, acting Chief Justice, and Justice Navin Chawla of the Delhi High Court asked Twitter why it had not taken down Atheist Republic's post.
The judges accused Twitter of discriminating against the Hindu religion. "If these kinds of things were done in relation to another religion, you would be much more careful, more sensitive," the judges said in their official statement.
Sidharth Luthra, Twitter's senior counsel, argued that they could not take down content without a court order.
"If this is the logic, then why have you blocked Mr. Trump," the court countered Luthra, effectively comparing Atheist Republic to Trump's hysterical and dangerously misleading tweets.
Twitter permanently disabled the former US president's Twitter account two days after the January 6 Capitol attack. Twitter reasoned that they are preventing Trump from inciting violence using their platform.
On April 1, 2022, Atheist Republic's official Twitter account was suspended without notice. Susanna McIntyre, the CEO of Atheist Republic, said she was notified about the suspension when she tried logging in.
She said they did not receive an email or formal notification explaining the suspension. McIntyre said Twitter users usually receive a list of tweets or content that broke community guidelines.
McIntyre said her team received an email from Twitter on March 28, notifying Atheist Republic about Deshwal's lawsuit and its effect on Twitter.
But the email did not mention nor warn about suspending Atheist Republic's Twitter account. Instead, Twitter said it had withheld the "offensive content" in India. "The content remains available elsewhere," Twitter's email added.
As part of its effort to defend itself, Atheist Republic formally sent a representative to join the case as one of the responding parties.
The Reason for the Ban is Revealed
In its affidavit, Twitter explained that aside from suspending users who violate their User Agreement policy, there is nothing much they can do about claims similar to Deshwal's charges.
"The Answering Respondent being an intermediary, cannot decide whether content on its platform is lawful or otherwise unless it is put to such actual knowledge," Twitter said.
In Twitter’s official reply that they submitted before the court, they explain that Atheist Republic’s account was suspended on April 1, 2022, for violation of the platform’s “ban evasion” policy, in apparent reference to the previous suspension of Atheist Republic’s founder, Armin Navabi, and current President & CEO, Susanna McIntyre.
Atheist Republic contests that this is an inappropriate enforcement of Twitter’s Terms of Service, as Armin Navabi, Susanna McIntyre, and Atheist Republic are separate entities. Atheist Republic does not represent Navabi and McIntyre, instead they represent the organization as the public leadership of largest community of atheists in the world. Furthermore, the Atheist Republic account has not been used for personal use of Navabi or McIntyre.
What Comes Next
The next hearing before the Delhi High Court will occured on October 28 2022. Atheist Republic’s legal representation will move for the original petition to be deemed infructuous and therefore dismissed.
In regards to pursuing a reinstatement to Atheist Republic’s Twitter account, the organization continues to pursue all legal options available. This will include hiring additional legal representation that will greatly increase Atheist Republic’s expenses.
The Atheist Republic Twitter account constitutes a very important method for the organization to reach out to new and current community members, as well as a key outreach tool that helps sustain the operations of the non-profit. According to McIntyre, Atheist Republic will “pursue every possible legal avenue to get our Twitter account back.”
Atheist Republic hasset up a fundraiser to help cover the cost of the ongoing legal fees. Finding and retaining quality lawyers is vital to ensuring fair treatment by social media platforms. Contributions towards our legal fund are an immeasurable help in the fight against the pressures of the Hindu-nationalists that want dissenters silenced and intimidated.
This suspension also highlights the importance of having personal contacts at large social media companies, as there is little hope of remedying issues otherwise. If you or anyone you know has connections to Twitter, please reach out to Atheist Republic's CEO atSusanna@AtheistRepublic.com.
