'Big Step Towards Transparency': Ravi Shankar Prasad Appreciates Google, Facebook For First Compliance Report

Ravi Shankar Prasad's comment can be seen in reference to the Indian government's tussle with Twitter over the new IT Rules.

New Delhi: Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday appreciated digital giants like Google, Facebook and Instagram for publishing their first compliance report on voluntary removal of offensive posts as per new IT rules, terming it a big step towards transparency.

According to the new IT rules, online platforms that have over 5 million users need to publish compliance reports every month stating details of complaints received and action taken on them.

Union Minister for Electronics & Information Technology praised Google, Facebook and Instagram's move to file first compliance report on voluntary removal of offensive posts and termed it as "a big step towards transparency".

"Nice to see significant social media platforms like Google, Facebook and Instagram following the new IT Rules. First compliance report on voluntary removal of offensive posts published by them as per IT Rules is a big step towards transparency," he tweeted.

This comment can also be seen in reference to the Indian government's tussle with Twitter over the new social media rules among other matters.

The IT minister has on several instances confronted Twitter for defiance and failure to comply with IT rules 2021. This has led to the micro-blogging website losing its intermediary status that provides it immunity from liabilities over the content on its platform.

In simple terms, Twitter is now liable to face action for any unlawful content posted by users.

In final stages of appointing Resident Grievance Officer: Twitter Tells Delhi HC

Meanwhile, Twitter on Saturday told the Delhi High Court that the interim Resident Grievance Officer of the microblogging site withdrew his candidature on June 21 and currently the platform is in the final stages of appointing a person for the post.

The company stated that it is in the final stages of appointing a replacement while in the meantime the grievances of Indian users are being addressed by the Grievance Officer.

Twitter's response was with respect to a petition alleging non-compliance with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, filed in the Delhi High Court. 

Compliance Report by Facebook & Google

Facebook on Friday informed that it "actioned" over 30 million posts across 10 violation categories during the May 15 to June 15 period.

It stated that it actioned content related to spam (25 million), violent and graphic content (2.5 million), adult nudity and sexual activity (1.8 million), and hate speech (311,000) among others.

Instagram also took action against about two million posts across nine categories during the aforementioned period.

Google informed that 27,762 complaints were received by the search engine and YouTube in April over alleged violation of local laws or personal rights. This resulted in the removal of 59,350 pieces of content.

'Actioned' content refers to the number of content such as posts, photos, videos or comments on which action has been taken for violating standards. Taking action can include removing posts, covering photos or videos with a warning as they may be disturbing to some users and more.

(With Inputs From Agencies)