Back'Twitter had opportunities,' says Prasad as govt takes away legal rights over non-compliance
Earlier this month, the government had given one last chance to Twitter to comply with the new IT rules, that came into effect on May 26
PremiumUnion information and technology minister Ravishankar Prasad on Wednesday informed that Twitter has lost its 'safe harbour' protection in India over non-compliance with IT rules and failure to appoint key personnel mandated under the new guidelines.
Earlier this month, the government had given one last chance to Twitter to comply with the new IT rules, that came into effect on May 26, and had issued a stern warning that failure to adhere to the norms will lead to the platform losing exemption from liability under the IT Act.
“There are numerous queries arising as to whether Twitter is entitled to safe harbour provision. However, the simple fact of the matter is that Twitter has failed to comply with the Intermediary Guidelines that came into effect from the 26th of May. Further, it was given multiple opportunities to comply with the same, however it has deliberately chosen the path of non-compliance," Prasad posted on his account on Koo.
Further justifying the action, the minister said that in a country like India, with the amplification of social media, “even a small spark can cause fire", adding that this was one of the many reasons why the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules were notified. “It is astounding that Twitter, which portrays itself as the flag bearer of free speech, chooses the path of deliberate defiance when it comes to the Intermediary Guidelines," he added.
The government has confronted Twitter over multiple instances in the past months, including during the farmers' protest and later when it tagged political posts of several leaders of the ruling party BJP, as "manipulated media", triggering a sharp rebuke from the Centre.
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