Breaking: Twitter Faces Criminal Liabilities for Third Party Content In India

Twitter has lost its intermediary status in India for failing to comply with the latest IT regulations that came into effect on May 25. The intermediary status offered a legal shield to social media platforms that protected them from persecution over content posted on the platform. This would also mean the social media platform would be treated as a publisher and face criminal contempt under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for any content posted on the platform. A government source said,

“Twitter to lose its status as an intermediary platform in India as it does not comply with new guidelines, it is the only social media platform among mainstream that has not adhered to new laws,”

A criminal case has already been filed against the social media giant in the state of Uttar Pradesh for fueling communal tensions. The case was registered in regards to a video circulating on the platform with false claims and the complaint claimed the platform did nothing to verify or stop its reach.

Twitter Says Its Working on Compliance

The new IT regulations require social media platforms to designate a key officer in the country. Twitter claimed it was working on the new regulations and has appointed an interim compliance officer. One of the spokespeople from the firm had said,

“We are keeping the MeitY apprised of the progress at every step of the process. An interim Chief Compliance Officer has been retained and details will be shared with the Ministry directly soon. Twitter continues to make every effort to comply with the new Guidelines”

The controversy started last month after a Police team was sent to the Twitter office for failing to respond to a non-compliance notice.