Twitter appoints Dharmendra Chatur as interim India grievance redressal officer
1 min read . Updated: 02 Jun 2021, 09:13 AM IST
Premium- Delhi HC has said Twitter has to comply with the new Information Technology (IT) Rules for digital media if they have not been stayed. It issued notice to the Centre and the social media platform seeking their stand on a plea by lawyer, claiming non-compliance of the rules
NEW DELHI: Micro-blogging platform Twitter has appointed an interim grievance redressal officer for its India operations as per the requirements under the new IT guidelines. The rules, announced on 25 February, asked significant social media intermediaries--with a user base of 50 lakh and more--to appoint grievance, compliance and nodal officers by 26 May. As per the rules, the appointees have to be Indian nationals based in the country.
Twitter has listed Dharmendra Chatur, who is reported to be a partner designate at a law firm representing Twitter at the Delhi high court, as an interim grievance redressal officer on its website.
Additionally, it also mentions Jeremy Kessel who is based out of the US as grievance officer on its site. However, there was no clarity on the appointment of a compliance officer and a nodal officer by Twitter.
On Monday, news agency PTI reported that Delhi high court had said Twitter has to comply with the new Information Technology (IT) Rules for digital media if they have not been stayed. Justice Rekha Palli issued notice to the Centre and social media platform Twitter seeking their stand on a plea by lawyer, Amit Acharya, claiming non-compliance of the rules by it.
While Twitter claimed before the court that it has complied with the rules and appointed a resident grievance officer, the central government disputed the claim.
Last week, tensions between the Indian government and Twitter rose after the social media giant said it was concerned by the use of “intimidation tactics" by the police and asked the government to respect freedom of speech.
The central hit back, accusing the company of trying to “dictate terms" to the country.
“Twitter Inc, a US-based private company, in its communique says it seeks ‘constructive dialogue’, ‘collaborative approach’ from the government of a sovereign democratic republic to ‘safeguard interests of the public’. It is time that Twitter disabuses itself of this grandiosity and complies with the laws of India," the government said in a statement.
