Comply with the rules or brace for consequences : Govt issues an ultimatum to Twitter

Devout Hindus and the like-minded Hindu organisations feel that the Government of India should take a strict action against the arbitrariness and stubbornness of ‘Twitter’, ‘Facebook’ and other foreign social media intermediaries to make sure they fall in line.

New Delhi – The Government of India had issued a set of rules for the social media intermediaries three months ago. These social media had no less than 3 months to comply, however, Twitter is yet to abide by the rules. As a result, the Centre has issued a final notice to the micro-blogging website. The message is loud and clear – Comply with the rules or brace for consequences. Twitter has been adequately warned of its irresponsible attitude towards the said guidelines.

Government of India issues final notice to Twitter for compliance with the new Information Technology Ruleshttps://t.co/imbv1B2ZKL

— OpIndia.com (@OpIndia_com) June 5, 2021

The letter states that Twitter has still not appointed a Chief Compliance Officer in India as required by the rules. Moreover, it has been established that the Resident Grievance Officer and the Nodal Contact Person appointed are not the employees of Twitter, as mandated by the rules.

In addition, as per the information received, the office address provided by twitter is that of a law firm. Even after a week past the deadline, Twitter still objects to comply with the rules. If Twitter fails to comply, the exemption from liability available under section 79 of the IT Act, 2000 might be withdrawn. Dilly-dallying to comply with the issued guidelines indicates utter lack of commitment on Twitter’s part to provide a safe experience to its users in India. It is quite surprising to believe that a social media like Twitter which is operational in India since a decade is opposing the set of rules which aim to provide a robust Grievance Redressal Mechanism to its users in India. What is even more surprising is the fact that Twitter is still adamant on its position even after the compliance has been mandated by the law.