Sources in the Ministry of Electronics and IT said Twitter has not yet complied with all the provisions of the rules that came into force on May 25.
Shortly after a case was 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 lost legal indemnity in India because of its failure to comply with new rules requiring it to appoint key officers in India, government sources said today, NDTV reported.
Sources in the Ministry of Electronics and IT said Twitter has not yet complied with all the provisions of the rules that came into force on May 25. “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,” the sources said.
The micro-blogging website is 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 he was assaulted by a group of men, who cut off his beard and forced him to chant “Vande Matram” and “Jai Shri Ram”.
UP Police stressed that as implied in tweets, it was not a communal incident. As per police, the man, Sufi Abdul Samad, was attacked by six men – Hindus and Muslims – who were unhappy over the amulets he had sold them.
Twitter and several journalists, in the Police FIR, have been charged for inciting “communal sentiments” with posts sharing the man’s allegations on the assault.
Police said that on the night of June 14 they had put out a press release through their Twitter handle giving details and refuting the communal angle. The police alleged that despite their clarification, users did not delete the tweets and Twitter did not take any steps to get the tweets removed.
“Since they do not enjoy any protection and they did not flag this video as manipulated media, they are liable for penal action,” government sources said.
The new IT Rules require major digital platforms to appoint India-based officers including a Chief Compliance Officer. Twitter is the only tech platform that has not fully complied with the rules.
Twitter, on Tuesday, said it had appointed an interim Chief Compliance Officer and would soon share details with the IT Ministry. As the new rules came into effect last month, Twitter had initially expressed concern. However, after several warnings from the Ministry of Electronics and IT, Twitter appointed an Indian interim grievance redressal officer.
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, a Twitter spokesperson said.
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