The IT Ministry had asked Twitter to either comply with the IT Rules or lose intermediary status by July 4, 2022
If it had not complied with the rules and lost its intermediary status, it would be equally responsible as the user for the content posted on its platform
Besides the government’s request for account takedowns, Twitter proactively actioned 46K accounts between April 26 and May 25, 2022
On June 27, the IT Ministry had asked Twitter to either comply with the IT Rules or lose intermediary status. The deadline for the same was July 4, 2022. According to a PTI report, official government sources have stated that Twitter is finally in compliance with the IT Rules, 2020.
The new IT Rules (now in process of amendment) grant social media platforms the status of intermediaries. In turn, these intermediaries need to safeguard the public interest and have to abide by the guidelines, including takedown notices from the government offices. But Twitter, in the past, failed to comply with two takedown notices – on June 6 and 9.
The rift between the government and Twitter has been going on since the release of the IT Rules in May 2021. On many occasions previously, the US-based social media platform has asked for extensions to comply with the IT rules, declined requests from the government to take down tweets and deactivate certain user accounts as well as dragged the government to court over certain aspects of the rules.
In May as well, the government had asked Twitter to act on content related to Khalistan and accounts eulogising terrorists in Kashmir. According to reports, the government had requested Twitter to block 60 accounts and some tweets from certain groups, journalists, politicians and supporters of the farmers’ protest.
Following this, Twitter not only actioned the said accounts and tweets but also submitted a list of over 80 Twitter accounts and tweets that it has blocked based on a request from the government in 2021.
If the microblogging platform was not in compliance with the IT Rules, it would lose its intermediary status. Per se, it would be equally responsible for the content posted on its platform, irrespective of the user.
But Twitter doesn’t necessarily need government directives to take down accounts and tweets, the government can only suggest their grievances. Proactively, the social media giant blocked 46K accounts between April 26 and May 25, 2022.
It received 1,589 complaints in India via its local grievance mechanism, where 1,366 complaints pertained to online harassment, while 111 grievances were logged for hateful conduct on the platform.
Of the 46K, the platform cracked the whip on 43,656 accounts promoting content related to child sexual exploitation and 2,870 accounts for promoting terrorism.
