Twitter blocks accounts of Jazzyb & Oz hip-hop artiste of Punjab origin
NEW DELHI: Twitter has blocked accounts of Punjabi rapper Jazzyb, Sydney-based hip-hop artiste L-fresh the Lion and two others following demands by the Indian government.
Jaswinder Singh Bains, aka Jazzyb, is described by his website as a “transatlantic superstar” and “the Crowned Prince of Bhangra, born in Punjab and raised in Canada.” Hits by Jazzyb include “Ghugian da Jorra”, “Dil Aah Gey Ya Tere Te”, “Londono Patola”, “Husna di Sarkar” and Naag.
He joined farmers protesting against the government’s controversial farm laws at the Singhu border in December last year and has been frequently tweeting in favour of the protests.
Sukhdeep Singh Bhogal, who is known as L-fresh the Lion, is an Australian hip-hop artist from Sydney. He too had tweeted in favour of farm law protestors, highlighting alleged deaths during the protests. Both artists took to Instagram to confirm that their Twitter accounts have been blocked in India.
Received legal request from Indian govt According to information on Lumen database, Twitter received a legal request from the Indian government on June 6 for blocking four accounts, including that of Jazzyb.
Requests received by Twitter for withholding content are published on Lumen database an independent research project studying cease and desist letters concerning online content.
Users checking Jazzyb and L-fresh the Lion’s account are shown a message saying “account has been withheld in India in response to a legal demand”.
When contacted, a Twitter spokesperson said when it receives a valid legal request, it reviews it under both the Twitter Rules and local law.
“If the content violates Twitter Rules, the content will be removed from the service. If it is determined to be illegal in a particular jurisdiction, but not in violation of the Twitter Rules, we may withhold access to the content in India only,” the spokesperson added.
The spokesperson noted that in all cases, it notifies the account holder directly so that they’re aware that the company has received a legal order pertaining to the account.
“We notify the user(s) by sending a message to the e-mail address associated with the account(s), if available... Twitter is committed to the principles of openness, transparency, details of the requests to withhold content have been published on Lumen,” the spokesperson said.
Reports suggest that Jazzyb had frequently tweeted in support of ongoing farmers’ protests in India.