Microblogging site Twitter on Monday told Karnataka High Court that it was being asked by the government to block accounts, rather than just a tweet that was deemed improper, because of political content.

As a platform it was affected by the Centre asking it to take down accounts without issuing notice to the alleged violators, Twitter said. Many of the tweets being asked to be blocked were “innocuous”, it added.

The high court was hearing a petition by Twitter against the Centre’s orders asking it to block some accounts, URLs and tweets.

The electronics and information technology ministry had on September 1 filed a 101-page statement of objection to Twitter’s petition.

Senior advocate Arvind Datar, appearing for Twitter online, argued that the company was following the rules laid out in the Information Technology Act.

The Centre was asking for wholesale blocking of accounts, which would affect Twitter’s business, he said.

Instead of blocking the tweet that was deemed improper, it was being told to block the account itself because of political content, he said.

Datar cited the example of the farmers’ protest in Delhi against the contentious farm laws and said content that was telecast in the news media was asked to be blocked on the microblogging site.

“During the farmers’ protest I was told to block accounts. TV and print media are reporting. Why ask me to block accounts,” he argued.

Datar cited the Supreme Court in the Shreya Singhal case where the IT Act Blocking Rules were upheld and said it was mandatory that notice be issued even to intermediaries like Twitter and hear them before blocking orders are passed.

Therefore, he claimed that all blocking orders issued by the electronics and information technology ministry were against the SC judgement and the IT Act Blocking Rules 6 and 8.

The senior advocate presented the example of a particular blocking order in which Twitter was told to block 1,178 accounts. The government did not inform them (account holders) and Twitter was also not allowed to inform them of the action.

Datar argued that requirements of Section 69A of the IT Act were not followed.

Around 50 to 60 per cent of tweets that are asked by the government to be blocked are “innocuous”, he added.

Datar said Twitter accepts that there are tweets which are not acceptable and it routinely removes them. Even in government orders there were tweets that were justifiable to be blocked. All that Twitter was seeking was the following of procedure and issuing of notices before blocking tweets.

The high court adjourned the hearing to October 17.