IT Rules Row: Is Twitter Stalling Compliance Despite Strong Response By Centre? | All You Need To Know

After a strong response from the government on Thursday, Twitter sent a shared details of a lawyer working in a law firm in India as their Nodal Contact Person and Grievance Officer.

Image Source: AFP

New Delhi: Micro-blogging site Twitter, is yet to comply with the Government of India's new IT rules. While Google, Facebook and WhatsApp have shared details with the IT ministry as per requirements under the digital rules, Twitter has only shared details of a lawyer working in a law firm in India as their Nodal Contact Person and Grievance Officer.

Twitter has not sent details of the Chief Compliance Officer to the ministry as of now. 

According to PTI, government sources have revealed that most of the large social media platforms have shared details of Chief Compliance Officer, Nodal Contact Person, Grievance Officer with the IT Ministry as required under the new rules. The rules require such designated officers of the significant social media platforms to be the employees of the company and resident in India, the government pointed out.

After a strong response from the government on Thursday, Twitter sent shared details of a lawyer working in a law firm in India as their Nodal Contact Person and Grievance Officer.

Congress Toolkit controversy and Twitter

Earlier in the week, Twitter flagged Congress toolkit shared by members of BJP as "manipulated media", following which the Delhi Police Special Cell sent notice to Twitter in connection with a probe over the tag used with some of the posts, asked the social media platform to explain the reason behind their decision to add the tag.

Things escalated with Twitter calling the visit by Delhi Police to its offices a form of "intimidation" which was met with vociferous protests from both the government and the Delhi Police. While the government called it "totally baseless, false and an attempt to defame India", Delhi Police said the statement was "mendacious" and designed to impede a lawful inquiry.

The government said law-making and policy formulations is the sole prerogative of the sovereign, adding Twitter is just a social media platform and it has no locus in dictating what India’s legal policy framework should be. Asserting India has a glorious tradition of free speech and democratic practices dating back centuries, the government said: “Protecting free speech in India is not the prerogative of only a private, for-profit, foreign entity like Twitter, but it is the commitment of the world’s largest democracy and its robust institutions.”

New Rules for social media

Under the new digital rules, social media companies like Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter have been asked to identify within 36 hours the originator of a flagged message as well as to conduct additional due diligence, including the appointment of a Chief Compliance Officer, Nodal Contact Person and resident Grievance Officer. 

Failing to comply with the rules, these social media platforms were to lose their protections as intermediaries. Under the new rules, the social media platforms are required to appoint a Chief Compliance Officer, a Nodal Contact Person and a Resident Grievance Officer, giving their name and contact address in India, complaint resolution, monitoring of objectionable content, compliance report and removal of objectionable content. The grievance officer must acknowledge the complaint within 24 hours and dispose it of within 15 days and provide reasons to the complainant for any action/inaction.

However, on Thursday, the government also emphatically assured the representatives of social media companies, including Twitter, that they “are and will always remain safe in India and there is no threat to their personal safety and security”.