Is Twitter taking its luck too far in India? This is a question being asked more and more as the Indian government gave "one final notice" after the microblogging platform continued to fail to comply with new IT rules that came into effect late last month. The bone of contention is the appointment of a complaints officer as mandated by the law of the land. Twitter seemed to have nominated someone last week, and we reported it, but it turns out that the person nominated for this position is not a full-time employee. And the Indian government seems to have lost patience with Twitter, slapping "one last word" to immediately comply with the new IT rules, warning that failure to comply with this rule would result in the loss of the liability waiver. . From the platform under computer law.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said in the notice that more than a week had passed since the new rules took effect, but Twitter refused to comply with the provisions of those rules. "From the responses to date it is clear that Twitter has not released details of the compliance officer as required by the rules," the ministry opinion said. Furthermore, the resident complaints officer and designated nodal contact person is not an employee of Twitter Inc. in India as prescribed by the rules, it added. Twitter's refusal to follow the rules demonstrates a "lack of commitment to providing a safe experience for the Indian people," the government said in the notice to Jim Baker, deputy general counsel.
Letter from the Government of India to Twitter (Image Credit: Government of India)
Although it has been operating in India for over a decade, it is unbelievable that Twitter Inc. has stubbornly refused to create mechanisms that would allow the Indian people to resolve their issues on the platform in a timely, transparent manner and through fair processes. the ministry said in the notice. "Users who are abused on the platform or harassed or subjected to defamation or speculative abuse or become victims of a wide range of other abusive contacts should get a redress mechanism that Indians themselves have created under due process.” The government, as a “goodwill gesture,” gave Twitter final notice to immediately comply with the new rules or lose the criminal liability exemption available to the social media intermediary under Article 79 of the Information Technology Law. Section 79 provides Twitter with a safe haven or protection from any type of criminal action for third party content posted on the platform.
As they say, when things go wrong, they go terribly wrong. And in the case of Twitter, it seems to be. Just as Twitter finds itself embroiled in an unnecessary dispute, it became embroiled in further confusion when it removed the blue check mark from the (Twitter) handle of Indian Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and key leaders of the right-wing RSS. . ecosystem that is the bulwark of India's ruling party, the BJP. Twitter, of course, played it strictly by the book. His rule for the blue check mark makes it clear that Twitter accounts that are inactive for a long time (6 months or more) are at risk of losing this verified mark. But to take that out of the control of the vice president in power is to stretch it too far. Especially in contrast to his own reluctance to abide by the rules of the nation. < p lang="en" dir="ltr">@kooindia is available in Nigeria. We are also considering turning on local languages there. What to say ? pic.twitter.com/NUia1h0xUi June 5, 2021 See More Meanwhile, right-wing groups in India, who have not lost their love for Twitter and are trying to make Koo a desi alternative, also see an opportunity elsewhere . The Indian social media platform wants to take advantage of Nigeria's Twitter ban by expanding its service there. Perhaps a global presence would boost Koo's valuation at a future fundraiser. "@kooindia is available in Nigeria. We are considering turning on local languages there too. What do you say?" The company's co-founder, Aprameya Radhakrishna, wrote on Twitter. Clearly, Twitter is being shaken from all sides. And the widespread belief in India is that time and options are running out.