Mumbai, Jan 30 (IANS): Actress Swara Bhasker has publicly slammed social media platform X after her account was suspended over alleged copyright violations.
The actress took to her Instagram handle to express her frustration, revealing that two of her tweets were flagged for copyright infringement, leading to her account being locked and ultimately suspended. In a detailed post, Swara outlined the reasons behind the suspension, stating that one of the flagged images featured the popular slogan “Gandhi Hum Sharmindaa Hain, Tere Qaatil Zindagi Hain,” a well-known slogan from the progressive movement in India.
The 'Veere Di Wedding' actress also defended the use of the image, claiming it was an urban, modern folk idiom with no copyright attached to it.
Sharing a screenshot of her suspended X account, Swara wrote, “You can’t make this stuff up!!!!) Dear X, Two images from two tweets have been marked as ‘copyright infringements’. Basis which my X account is locked / disabled, I can’t access it and permanent suspension has been approved by your teams.One with an orange background and text in Hindi Devnaagri script reading “Gandhi Hum Sharmindaa hain, Tere qaatil zindagi hain” is a popular slogan of the progressive movement in India. There is no copyright violation. It is akin to urban modern folk idiom.”
Her post further read, “The second image marked as a violation is an image of MY OWN child with her face concealed waving an Indian flag and with writing ‘HAPPY REPUBLIC DAY India. How can this possibly be a copyright infringement ???? Who has a copyright on my child’s likeness??? Both of these complaints are ridiculous and untenable by any rational, logical and objective understanding of any legal definition of copyright. If these tweets have been mass reported they are aimed to harass the user I.e. myself and are aimed at suppressing my freedom of speech and expression. Kindly review and reverse your decision.”
Earlier, actress Kangana Ranaut's X account was suspended in May 2021 due to "repeated violations" of Twitter's policies regarding hateful conduct and abusive behavior. Two years after her account was banned, Ranaut's account has now been reinstated.