India has stripped Twitter of its legal immunity against prosecution of illegal user content after it failed to appoint statutory officers on the company’s role in line with the new IT rules.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology claimed the microblogging site did not comply with the new social media rules put in place.
“Due to their non-compliance, their protection as an intermediary is gone. Twitter is liable for penal actions against any Indian law just as any publisher is,” an unnamed Ministry source told NDTV.
This means Twitter, including its executives, could be subject to Police interrogation and criminal liability for the content found to violate the law.
Indian authority had directed social media platforms to appoint three special executives; a Chief Compliance Officer, Nodal Officer and a Grievance Officer, by May 25, before the new regulations came into force.
Gatekeepers News gathered that Twitter did initially fill those positions but the Government said the new hires have to be permanent employees of the site to meet the regulations.
According to officials, a final notice was issued to the company on June 5 to abide by the regulation, but the social media company still did not comply.
“The company had been given extra time to comply with the guidelines, but it has failed to fall in line with the new IT rules despite our repeated indulgence,” a government source told the Times of India.
“With this, Twitter has lost its safe harbour protection, and now stands exposed to action under the IPC for any third-party unlawful content.”
The Times quoted a spokesperson for Twitter as saying the company is “keeping the IT Ministry apprised” of its progress “at every step,” and making “every effort to comply with the new guidelines.”
Gatekeepers News gathered that the Indian authorities have already lodged their first case against Twitter, with police in Uttar Pradesh filing a complaint over a viral video showing a brutal assault on an elderly man in Ghaziabad earlier this month.
Authorities say Twitter failed to remove the footage, as well as “misleading” content on the attack.
“Since they do not enjoy any protection and they did not flag this video as manipulated media, they are liable for penal action,” the IT Ministry source told NDTV.
The complaint was also filed against several local journalists who allegedly shared the violent video, saying they all helped to broadcast the clip “on a large scale” and that the footage was “an attempt to destroy communal harmony” between Indians.
Twitter has had issues with the government recently after it raised concerns about a state crackdown on “freedom of expression.”
Gatekeepers News reported that the Police had visited Twitter’s offices in Delhi and Gurgaon after the social media giant flagged tweets from Indian politicians as “manipulated media.”
The government dismissed Twitter’s charges of a clampdown, saying they are “totally baseless, false and an attempt to defame India to hide their own follies.”
