The NCPCR cited laws restricting media and the general public from publishing identifying details of minors as statutory grounds in addition to orders delivered by various courts. The National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights has sent Twitter four notices to censor tweets by Rahul Gandhi and Congress politicians, MediaNama has learned. Gandhi's Twitter handle was locked since NCPCR objected to him posting a picture with the parents of a child in Delhi who was raped and murdered. Priyank Kanoongo, the chair of the child rights body, posted a partially redacted first page of the letter on Twitter; MediaNama has obtained the full letter, and also obtained a list of subsequent tweets from senior Congress leaders that the NCPCR demanded Twitter remove. NCPCR argued that the picture, which did not depict the minor, still contained too much information about her, and should therefore be removed. The commission also reached out to Facebook to take down similar posts by Congress politicians on that platform and Instagram, the Times of India reported. We have filed for records of this notice to NCPCR. The censorship of Gandhi's and INC politicians' social media presence comes as the government deals with the fallout of the Pegasus Project revelations, which uncovered alleged surveillance of political leaders, journalists, activists, judges, and law enforcement officials. Twitter has said that it would not censor accounts belonging to activists, journalists, and politicians; but it appears that with the action against accounts belonging to Gandhi and other senior Congress officials, that promise…
