Micro-blogging platform Twitter has lost legal protection in India against user content violation after it failed to comply with the new IT rules, news agency ANI reported quoting government sources. Under new IT rules, Twitter was required to appoint key officers based in the country but the company is yet to comply with the new laws.
Twitter losing legal shield means that any illegal content posted by any user on the platform can result in a lawsuit or police interrogation against the company officials. Here onwards, instead of being considered just a platform hosting content from various users, Twitter will be directly, editorially responsible for posts published on its platform.
It also means that if there is any charge against Twitter for alleged unlawful content it would be treated as a publisher – not an intermediary – and be liable for punishment under any law, including IT Act, as also the penal laws of the country.
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As twitter lost indemnity in India, a case has been filed in Uttar Pradesh against the social media giant over posts on a viral video of an assault that the police say tried to incite communal trouble.
Twitter has been accused of not removing the "misleading" content linked to an incident in Ghaziabad on June 5, in which an elderly Muslim man had alleged that his beard was cut off and he was forced to chant "Vande Matram" and "Jai Shri Ram" by a group that assaulted him.
The incident was given a communal colour on social media, UP Police said in a statement. The victim, Sufi Abdul Samad was attacked by six men, comprising both Hindus and Muslims, who were unhappy over some amulets he sold to them.
The police then filed FIR against Twitter and several journalists for inciting "communal sentiments" with posts sharing the man's allegations on the assault.
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Moreover, despite the clarification by the police, Twitter failed to remove the post that was deemed misleading by the security department.
"Since they do not enjoy any protection and they did not flag this video as manipulated media, they are liable for penal action," NDTV quoted a government source as saying.
The new set of IT rules were notified by the government in February 2021, with a compliance period of 3 months, that is, till May 25. However, Twitter failed to comply to the new rules. The social media giant later demanded an extension for the compliance period and was granted the same. Still, there were no changes or appropriate action taken by the micro-blogging platform.
Twitter is the only social media platform among the biggest ones, that has not yet complied with the new set of IT rules. It requires major digital platforms to appoint India-based officers including a Chief Compliance Officer.
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On Tuesday, Twitter had said it had appointed an interim Chief Compliance Officer and would soon share details with the IT Ministry.
A Twitter spokesperson said the company "continues to make every effort" to comply with the new guidelines and is keeping the IT Ministry apprised of progress at every step of the process.
Earlier this month, the government had given Twitter a stern "last notice" to comply with the new rules, saying its refusal to do so demonstrated its "lack of commitment and efforts" towards providing a safe experience for the people of India on its platform.
