Twitter, Facebook may face ban in India from tomorrow May 26
Social media platforms Facebook, Twitter and Instagram may face a ban in India if they do not comply with the new Intermediary Guidelines. The deadline to accept the guidelines set by the government will end on May 25 but so far none of the platforms including WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter has complied with the new regulations yet.
The Indian version of Twitter, Koo, is the only social media app that has complied with the new guidelines ahead of the May 25 deadline. In February 2021, the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MEITy) had given a three-month time to the social platforms to comply with the new IT rules.
It’s been reported that some social media platforms have asked for a six-month deadline, saying they were awaiting instructions from their US headquarters. The rules, or the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Rules), aim to make social media companies more accountable. The rules include the appointment of the supervisory mechanism will include a committee with representatives from Defense, Foreign Affairs, Home, I&B, Law, Information Technology and Development of Women and Children.
Notifying the rules on February 25, the Electronics & Information Technology ministry gave a three-month deadline to social media platforms to comply with the new rules. The window ends on May 25.
So far, no company except for one has appointed any such officials, sources said. Some platforms have asked for a six-month deadline, saying they were waiting for instructions from their headquarters in the US.
It is a crucial moment for the social media companies because if they do not comply with the new rules by May 25, they will lose their status and protections as intermediaries and criminal action can be taken against them as per the laws of India
Sources reveal that social media platforms non-adherence to the rules have not gone down well with the government.
Social media platforms have been recently alleged for congress toolkit controversy. Yesterday, Delhi Police visited Twitter India’s local offices in the National Capital Region on Monday after Twitter had circled of the tweets of BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra as “manipulated media”.
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