Twitter parody account in hot seat amid controversy

The satirical Twitter account titled "Jho Low the President's Godson" has come under scrutiny. As per a post on Wednesday, the account disclosed that it had been notified by the social media platform that a complaint had been filed by the Cyprus Police. The parody account was established immediately following the gold passport scandal and has since been a platform for highlighting contentious topics, including the 2012 fatal car accident and questions surrounding the credibility of the degrees held by the Director General of the Ministry of Health, Christina Giannakis.

Confirmation came from Police Spokesman Christos Andreou in an interaction with K. He clarified that after receiving multiple complaints lodged with the Office for Combating Electronic Crime, the Police notified Twitter about the matter. The complaints cited a breach of the user community terms on the social networking platform. Andreou emphasized that the Police cannot unilaterally close social media accounts unless a criminal offense has been proven.

Offering insight, Andreas Anastasiades, the Director of the Sub-Directorate for Combating Cybercrime, informed K that the Police had indeed alerted Twitter about the complaints. The request was for Twitter to investigate whether the account's content violated user community terms, including decency, respect for human rights, and avoiding personal insults. Subsequently, Anastasiades noted, Twitter holds the authority to determine its course of action, which could involve closing the account, content removal, temporary suspension, or taking no action.

Anastasiades clarified that the complaints lodged against the account are not restricted to the case of Ms. Giannakis and originate from various individuals. He emphasized that this process of handling complaints is standard and is conducted regularly for other accounts across different social media platforms.

Content of the Twitter message

The Twitter message directed at the account reads as follows: "For transparency purposes, we inform you that we have received a request from the Cyprus Police regarding your account which claims that its content violates Cypriot law. We have not taken any action at this time in relation to this request. Twitter strongly believes in defending and respecting the voice of its users, it is our policy to notify our users if we receive a legal request from an authorized entity (such as law enforcement authorities or a government agency) to remove content from their account. We provide information on whether the user lives in the country where the request is made. We understand that receiving such notification is an inconvenient experience. While Twitter cannot provide legal advice, we want you to have the opportunity to evaluate the request and, if you wish, take appropriate action to protect your interests. This may include seeking legal advice and challenging the request in court, or by contacting the relevant authorities, voluntarily deleting the content, or finding another solution."