Twitter Loses Legal Protection, Fails To Comply With New IT Rules: Official
The Information Technology (Intermediate Guidelines and Digital Media Code of Conduct) Rules were notified in February and came into force on May 25
Mumbai: Microblogging platform Twitter has lost its status as an intermediary platform in India as it is yet to comply with the amended information technology rules that came into force on May 26. It is the only social media platform among the mainstream that has not complied with the new rules. law.
This means that Twitter will be directly editorially responsible for posts published on its platform, rather than considering it to be the only platform hosting content from different users.
“Now, if there is a case in court, Twitter cannot seek safe harbour under the Information Technology Act. In any case, filed after May 26, Twitter cannot say it is an intermediary and claim exception.”
The Information Technology (Intermediate Guidelines and Digital Media Code of Conduct) Rules were notified in February and came into force on May 25.
The official said, as a gesture of goodwill, the government gave Twitter additional time to comply with the rules. But Twitter has also failed to meet the one-week deadline to make appointments as per the new rules, the official said. The official said the details of the appointment of the compliance officer are yet to be shared with the government.
Following this, a company spokesperson said it has appointed an interim chief compliance officer and apprised the ministry of electronics and information technology at every stage of the process.
“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 retained and details will be shared with the ministry soon. Twitter continues to make every effort to comply with new guidelines” said the Twitter spokesperson.
The Indian government and Twitter have been at loggerheads over its subsequent compliance with IT regulations, which mandate major social media platforms to increase due diligence, increase vigilance around objectionable content, and be held accountable for the same.
Social media intermediaries with 50 lakh or more users need to comply with the new rules and appoint a Grievance Officer, a Nodal Officer and a Chief Compliance Officer. According to the new rules, these will be local Indian residents.
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