If Capitol Hill Is US’ Pride, Red Fort Is India’s: Ravi Shankar Prasad On Twitter Losing Intermediary Status
Mumbai: Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad Thursday categorically said that if companies want to do business in India, they have to follow the country’s constitution and rules.
Citing the example of violence at the US Capitol, Prasad said that the Twitter account of the then US President Donald Trump was blocked when dacoits raided Capitol Hill in Washington, although the Red Fort was raided during the farmers’ strike in India, Red Fort was raided by terrorist supporters showing naked swords, injuring policemen and pushing them in a ditch…then no action was taken and the comments were termed as freedom of speech.
“If Capitol Hill is US’ pride, Red Fort is India’s where the Prime Minister hoists the Tricolour. You (Twitter) show parts of Ladakh as China’s part. It takes a fortnight for us (Centre) to pursue you to remove it. This isn’t fair. As a democracy, India is equally entitled to safeguard its digital sovereignty,” the Communications, Electronics & Information Technology Minister told ANI.
https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1405464647604469763?s=20
“If half of the Government is on Twitter, including Prime Minister and President..that shows how fair we are. But norms are norms. We are not in favour of banning any platform but you have to follow the law,” Prasad asserted.
https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1405466055858802696?s=20
Twitter has lost its status as an intermediary platform in India for allegedly not fully complying with the new IT rules. The new rules came into effect on May 26.
“We don’t want all messages to be decrypted. It is my word that all ordinary users of WhatsApp can continue to use it. If any content goes viral, causing mob lynching, riots, killing, showing women in nudity, sexual exploitation of children,” he added.
He went on saying, “Only in these limited categories, you’ll be asked to declare who started the mischief. If viral messages are causing mayhem here which originated from across the border then who started it in India, that’s all we are seeking. This is in the public interest.”
https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1405468583874883590?s=20
Meanwhile, Twitter has assured that t would comply with the new IT rules.
“We are keeping the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) apprised of the progress at every stage of the process. The interim Chief Compliance Officer has been placed directly and the details will be shared with the ministry soon. Twitter will make every effort to ensure compliance. With the new guidelines,” a Twitter spokesperson said.
According to the new IT rules, social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter are more accountable to legal requests for swift removal of posts and sharing details on the originators of messages.
(With Agency Inputs)
Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and like us on Facebook for the latest updates and interesting stories.
