According to the new IT Rules, 2021, social media intermediaries with 5 Mn or more users in India had to confirm appointments of a chief grievance officer, a chief compliance officer and a nodal contact person
While Twitter has appointed a chief grievance officer, a chief compliance officer and a nodal contact person, the centre has only now confirmed the appointments to Delhi High Court in an affidavit
The centre confirmed that Twitter has provided names, positions and employment contracts of the appointed personnel and that their employment start date is August 4, 2021
In May 2021, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had enacted Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code, Rules 2021, where all social media intermediaries with 5 Mn or more users in India have to comply with the guidelines. Owing to the guidelines, social media sites such as Twitter had to confirm appointments of a chief grievance officer, a chief compliance officer and a nodal contact person.
While the guidelines have clearly stated that the three officers must be Indian residents, Twitter appointed California-based legal policy director, Jeremy Kessel days after Dharmendra Chatur joined the post and quit within days. While the appointments came into force, the court had objected to the use of “contingent workers” over “permanent employees” in an affidavit submitted by Twitter.