On May 11, the ICCI “Our House” received an official message from Twitter. Representatives of the company informed about the request from the National Data Protection Center of the Republic of Belarus. The main demand of the regime’s accomplices was to delete either the publications or our organization account immediately.

But democracy is a democracy, after all. Twitter first notified our organization about the request and sent the documents that it had been given.

Along with the “Our House” account, the regime also demanded that the accounts of Malanka Media, BELSAT and BELAMOVA be deleted.

       

       

 

Twitter has currently taken no action on the reported content as a result of this request. Twitter firmly believes in protecting and respecting the voice of its users, its policy is to notify users if a legitimate request from the law enforcement or a government agency comes in to remove content from an account.

“We understand that receiving this type of notification can be a frustrating experience. While Twitter cannot provide legal advice, we want you to have the opportunity to assess the request and, if you wish, take appropriate steps to protect your interests. It could include finding a lawyer and challenging the request in court, contacting relevant civil society organizations, voluntarily removing content (if applicable) or finding some other solution,” reads the official letter from Twitter.

ICCI “Our House” is preparing a formal response letter. We will be sure to let our readers know the outcome of our communication. We want to note that our team appreciates Twitter’s respectful attitude towards its users and thanks for the timely information. We understand that there is constant information warfare against democratic forces in Belarus, and we are ready to repel the regime’s attacks!