Twitter non-compliant with IT Rules on May 26, named officials as contingent arrangement later: MoS IT

Twitter was noncompliant with the IT rules on May 26 when the new regulations came into effect but the microblogging platform has subsequently appointed a chief compliance officer and a resident grievance officer as a contingent arrangement Parliament was informed on ThursdayTwitter has also informed the IT Ministry about its physical contact address in India and has published a compliance report for June 2021 Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said in a written reply in the Rajya SabhaChandrasekhar also said the statement made by Twitter earlier in May expressing concerns over potential threat to freedom of expression and staff safety was possibly an effort to divert attention from its noncompliance to IT Rules and Indian laws at that stageThe Information Technology Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Rules 2021 notified on February 25 2021 have become fully effective from May 26 2021 including for additional due diligence to be followed by Significant Social Media Intermediaries SSMIs he saidAlso Read Twitter rejigs social media dashboard TweetDeckOn that day Twitter was noncompliant Subsequently they have appointed Chief Compliance Officer and a Resident Grievance Officer as a contingent arrangement and have also informed the Ministry about physical contact address in India They have also published the compliance report of June 2021 he saidThe minister went on to add that major digital platforms including Facebook Google Twitter LinkedIn and WhatsApp have informed this ministry regarding appointment of chief compliance officer nodal contact person and resident grievance officer as well as their physical contact addresses in IndiaThey have also started publishing a monthly compliance report he informed the Upper HouseIn case of noncompliance with the Rules the intermediaries including SSMIs shall lose their exemption from liability under section 79 of IT Act and rule 7 of the above said Rules becomes applicable Chandrasekhar saidOn a question about Twitters statement on May 27 airing concerns over potential threat to freedom of expression and safety of its employees in India Chandrasekhar asserted that freedom of speech and expression is a constitutionally guaranteed Fundamental Right and the companys statement was possibly an effort to divert the attention from the noncompliance to the Information Technology rulesThe statement of Twitter was possibly an effort to divert the attention from the noncompliance to the Information Technology Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Rules 2021 and Indian laws at that stage he saidThe minister emphasised that the government is committed to the growth of a vibrant technology and internet ecosystem in the countryGovernment has also assured that representatives of social media platforms including Twitter remain safe in India and there is no threat to their personal safety and security he pointed outTo another question on whether the government would reconsider the guidelines that suggest indirectly the breaking of endtoend encryption of messages Chandrasekhar said the rules do not seek breaking the endtoend encryptionNeither the IT Act nor the new social media rules contravene freedom of speech and expression or right to privacy he addedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever