On June 5, the government sent Twitter a notice offering it one final chance to “immediately” comply with the new IT requirements, warning that failing to do so would result in the platform losing its exemption from liability under the IT Act.
“Despite being operational in India for more than a decade, it is beyond belief that Twitter Inc has doggedly refused to create a mechanism that will enable the people of India to resolve their issues on the platform in a timely and transparent manner and through fair processes, by India based, clearly identified resources,” the IT Ministry said.
The move came on the same day as a fresh flashpoint in the Twitter-government spat erupted, following the temporary removal of Vice President Venkaiah Naidu’s “blue tick” verification symbol from his account since it had not been used in six months.
Because the government has threatened to revoke Twitter’s indemnification under Section 79 of the IT Act, the platform might be held liable for user-generated content. As middlemen, Twitter and other social media platforms now benefit from the protection that holds users accountable for posts that are deemed illegal.
Since February, Twitter has been at odds with the Indian government, which requested that it censor information saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration was attempting to quiet criticism of farmer demonstrations in the nation.
The government reacted angrily to Twitter’s designation of BJP leaders’ remarks slamming the opposition Congress as “manipulated media” last month, demanding that the site remove the term, calling it “an overreach and prejudicial.”
Twitter said it has appointed an interim grievance redressal officer by the new government standards, but it has yet to nominate a compliance officer or a nodal person. In court, the government argued that Twitter had not met all of the new law’s requirements.
