The government on Wednesday confirmed that micro-blogging platform Twitter has already lost its status as an 'intermediary' for not yet complying with the new IT Rules.
"Twitter has already lost the status (intermediary), which means they are liable for any unlawful post on their platform...if they violate any laws then as per that law, action can be taken," a senior official at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) told BusinessLine.
Chief Compliance Officer
The official said the government has also not received any information about the appointment of a Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) yet and neither has Twitter published it on its website. “If they have appointed someone as CCO, they should publish that name on their website,” he added.
However, Twitter argues that none of the social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram or YouTube, have published the same on their websites either.
“Everyone has published details of the grievance officers only,” a source at Twitter said, adding that ‘CCO details are not shared in public domain’
“We are keeping the MeitY apprised of the progress at every step of the process. An interim Chief Compliance Officer has been retained and details will be shared with the Ministry directly soon,” a Twitter spokesperson said, adding that the company continues to make every effort to comply with the new guidelines.
According to cyber law experts, Twitter will not lose its intermediary status by such decisions.
“They (Twitter) will not stop being an intermediary. They lose the exemptions or protections that extend to Intermediaries under Section 79 IT Act. The risk with that is that in effect they can be held liable for illegal acts which are committed on their platform,” N S Nappinai, Advocate, Supreme Court and Founder-Cyber Saathi, said.
“That does not mean they ‘will’ be convicted or something. It just means they may be involved in investigations, inquiries and possibly trials in which they will have to prove their innocence to avoid jail terms,” she added.
And that is exactly what has happened, wherein a first information report (FIR) has been filed in Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh) against Twitter, several journalists and Congress leaders, over ‘provoking communal sentiments’ after an elderly Muslim man alleged that he was assaulted on June 5.
The man named Abdul Samad, claimed in a video that his beard was cut off and he was forced to chant "Vande Mataram" and "Jai Shri Ram" after the accused took him away to a forested area and locked him up in a hut.
A Twitter spokesperson declined to comment on the incident.
Twitter has already lost 'intermediary' status: MeitY official
MeitY has termed the unilateral action by Twitter as “an effort to influence the fair investigation process and a clear overreach, which is totally unwarranted”
MeitY has termed the unilateral action by Twitter as “an effort to influence the fair investigation process and a clear overreach, which is totally unwarranted”
'Company can be booked for any unlawful content on its platform'
The government on Wednesday confirmed that micro-blogging platform Twitter has already lost its status as an 'intermediary' for not yet complying with the new IT Rules.
"Twitter has already lost the status (intermediary), which means they are liable for any unlawful post on their platform...if they violate any laws then as per that law, action can be taken," a senior official at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) told BusinessLine.
Chief Compliance Officer
The official said the government has also not received any information about the appointment of a Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) yet and neither has Twitter published it on its website. “If they have appointed someone as CCO, they should publish that name on their website,” he added.
However, Twitter argues that none of the social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram or YouTube, have published the same on their websites either.
“Everyone has published details of the grievance officers only,” a source at Twitter said, adding that ‘CCO details are not shared in public domain’
“We are keeping the MeitY apprised of the progress at every step of the process. An interim Chief Compliance Officer has been retained and details will be shared with the Ministry directly soon,” a Twitter spokesperson said, adding that the company continues to make every effort to comply with the new guidelines.
According to cyber law experts, Twitter will not lose its intermediary status by such decisions.
“They (Twitter) will not stop being an intermediary. They lose the exemptions or protections that extend to Intermediaries under Section 79 IT Act. The risk with that is that in effect they can be held liable for illegal acts which are committed on their platform,” N S Nappinai, Advocate, Supreme Court and Founder-Cyber Saathi, said.
“That does not mean they ‘will’ be convicted or something. It just means they may be involved in investigations, inquiries and possibly trials in which they will have to prove their innocence to avoid jail terms,” she added.
And that is exactly what has happened, wherein a first information report (FIR) has been filed in Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh) against Twitter, several journalists and Congress leaders, over ‘provoking communal sentiments’ after an elderly Muslim man alleged that he was assaulted on June 5.
The man named Abdul Samad, claimed in a video that his beard was cut off and he was forced to chant "Vande Mataram" and "Jai Shri Ram" after the accused took him away to a forested area and locked him up in a hut.
A Twitter spokesperson declined to comment on the incident.
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