Indian Government Forces Twitter To Comply With Information Technology Law, Here's Why!

Twitter must be able to comply with Information Technology Act in India. (photo credit: alexander shatov/unsplash)

JAKARTA - Twitter has appointed two new executives in India in a bid to comply with the country's new information technology law. This statement came from a company lawyer to the Delhi High court at a hearing on Friday, August 6.

First reported by Bloomberg, one of the new executives is a chief compliance officer who will also serve as a grievance officer, and the other a nodal officer. Both are required by the country's Intermediary Guidelines and the Digital Media Code of Conduct which came into effect in May.

Twitter made the promise a week after the Indian government found the social media platform's efforts to comply with the new rules were insufficient.

Under new rules in India, social media companies are required to remove content within 36 hours of receiving a legal order.

The country also requires the company to have a complaints officer who responds to user complaints within 24 hours, a chief compliance officer, and a contact person who will be available to respond to law enforcement agencies 24 hours a day.

But on July 28, a judge found Twitter's appointment of an employee through a third-party contractor to be a complaints and compliance officer "unacceptable." The rules require the officer to be a senior staff member at Twitter.

The government argued in a legal filing last month that Twitter had lost its immunity for failing to comply with the new rules, which makes it legally responsible for content posted by its users in India.

In May, police raided Twitter's India offices after the platform labeled government officials' tweets as "manipulated media." In June, an Indian government minister warned the platform could have "unintended consequences" if it failed to comply with the new rules.

“We have taken significant steps towards compliance with the Information Technology Rules (Digital Media Intermediaries and Code of Conduct), 2021 and have kept the Government of India informed of our progress,” a Twitter spokesperson in India wrote in an email to The Verge last Saturday. .

"We remain committed to safeguarding the voice and privacy of those who use our services," the report added.

According to Bloomberg, the Indian government will now review whether Twitter's new appointment meets the rules, and will hear the case again on August 10.