Twitter Inc. on Tuesday moved a petition in the Karnataka High Court challenging Centre’s orders directing the social media platform to take down content critical of government policies. The social media giant’s move came after the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in June 2021 issued a last notice warning Twitter of penal action if the company failed to comply with the Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code that the Ministry had issued in February last year.
The guidelines mandated all social media platforms, with more than 50 lakh users in the country, to appoint a resident grievance officer, a chief compliance officer and a nodal contact person. The ministry had given all social media platforms 90 days to comply with the guidelines. In the event of failure in compliance, protections provided to them under Section 79 of the IT Act would stand withdrawn, the ministry had warned. However, Twitter did not comply with the Centre’s notice.
The ministry had in January last year asked the U.S. micro-blogging site to block around 250 tweets and Twitter accounts that were making allegedly “fake, intimidatory and provocative tweets” against the government during farmers’ protest in Delhi, setting off a confrontation with blogging platform, even though the social media platform suspended over 500 accounts in February 2021. Twitter also took down accounts belonging to some BJP ministers and RSS leaders, which were restored following an uproar.
In its petition to the High Court seeking a judicial review of government order, Twitter has argued that in several cases, there were demands for entire accounts to be blocked, which were arbitrary. According to Twitter, several accounts might carry content posted by official handles of political parties and blocking of such information was a violation of the freedom of speech guaranteed to citizens using the platform. Reacting to Twitter moving the High Court challenging the Centre’s guidelines to tame social media, Union Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday said, “Be it any company, in any sector, they should abide the laws of India. This is the responsibility of everyone to abide by the laws passed by the Parliament.” The minister said that the government will make social media accountable for its content. “Social media accountability has become a valid question globally. It is important to hold it accountable, which will first start with self-regulation, then industry regulation, followed by government regulation,” Vaishnaw added.
Meanwhile, the Centre on Tuesday the Union government has issued notification for the amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. Also on the card is setting up of a Grievances Appellate Committee for the resolution of grievances against officials. According to the draft proposals, the committee shall have to dispose of complaints within 30 days.
The Centre is gearing up to finalize the proposed amendments to the social media rules by July end, said government sources. According to Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the government is planning to put in place a mechanism for self-regulation to better address complaints with regard to social media use.