Twitter showing deliberate defiance: Prasad
Twitter has chosen the path of “non-compliance” with regard to India’s Intermediary guidelines that came into effect from May 26 and has shown “deliberate defiance” towards the new law, Union minister for electronics and information technology Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Wednesday. “There are numerous queries arising as to whether Twitter is entitled to safe harbour provision. However, the simple fact of the matter is that Twitter has failed to comply with the Intermediary Guidelines that came into effect from the 26th of May,” Prasad wrote on Twitter as well as the Indian microblogging platform Koo.Further, Twitter was given multiple opportunities to comply with the same, however it has deliberately chosen the path of non compliance.— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) 1623823338000Prasad’s comments come after the UP Police on Tuesday filed an FIR against Twitter Inc, its India unit and seven others in connection with a viral video of an attack on an elderly person in Ghaziabad. “What happened in UP was illustrative of Twitter’s arbitrariness in fighting fake news. While Twitter has been over-enthusiastic about its fact-checking mechanism, its failure to act in multiple cases like UP is perplexing & indicates its inconsistency in fighting misinformation,” Prasad wrote on the microblogging platform.ET had reported on Wednesday that Twitter appears to have lost its intermediary status in India and could now be liable for content on its site under the Indian Penal Code and the IT Act. However, Twitter on Tuesday evening said it has appointed an interim chief compliance officer and will soon share the details with the government.“Twitter was given multiple opportunities to comply with the same, however, it has deliberately chosen the path of non-compliance. In certain scenarios, with the amplification of social media, even a small spark can cause a fire, especially with the menace of fake news. This was one of the objectives of bringing the Intermediary Guidelines,’ he wrote. “It is astounding that Twitter, which portrays itself as the flag bearer of free speech, chooses the path of deliberate defiance when it comes to the Intermediary Guidelines.”Prasad said that Twitter has failed to address the grievances of users by refusing to set up a process as mandated by the law of the land. Additionally, it chooses a policy of flagging manipulated media, only when it suits its likes and dislikes.He said that Indian companies that do business in the US follow local laws. “Then why are platforms like Twitter showing reluctance in following Indian laws designed to give voice to the victims of abuse and misuse?,” he wrote.The rule of law is the bedrock of Indian society. India’s commitment to the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech was yet again reaffirmed at the G7 summit, he said.“However, if any foreign entity believes that they can portray itself as the flag bearer of free speech in India to excuse itself from complying with the law of the land, such attempts are misplaced,” Prasad wrote. Separately, the digital rights body, Internet Freedom Foundation, wrote on Twitter that the new IT Rules are unconstitutional and have been challenged in several state high courts.6/ The new IT Rules, as per several digital rights organisations, are unconstitutional. In fact, they have been cha… https://t.co/23c28YvFF4??? Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) (@internetfreedom) 1623822478000“Even if we presume that the IT Rules are legal and constitutional, where alleged non-compliance is for appointment of officers etc., when companies like Twitter are prosecuted, courts will decide if it is an intermediary and not the government,” IFF wrote on the microblogging platform on Wednesday. The San Francisco-based company is yet to appoint three key executives — required by India’s new IT rules to be permanent employees — despite several nudges from the government including a “last notice” sent on June 5. The company has appointed a lawyer as its grievance and nodal officer on a contractual basis only, sources said.
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