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The IT ministry told the High Court in New Delhi
that Twitter’s non-compliance amounted to a breach of the provisions of
the IT Act, causing the US firm to lose its immunity
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Twitter Inc no more enjoys liability protection against
user-generated content in India as the US microblogging giant has failed
to comply with new IT rules, the Indian government said in a court
filing.
The statement is the first time Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s
administration has officially said Twitter has lost its immunity after
repeatedly criticising the company for non-compliance.
The dispute and the public spat has raised concern that American
firms will find it difficult to do business amid a more stringent
regulatory environment.
India’s IT ministry told the High Court in New Delhi that Twitter’s
non-compliance amounted to a breach of the provisions of the IT Act,
causing the US firm to lose its immunity, according to the filing dated
July 5.
The filing came in a case filed by a Twitter user who wanted to
complain about some allegedly defamatory tweets on the platform, and
said the company was not complying with the new law that requires
appointment of certain new executives.
Twitter declined to comment. The company has previously said it was making all efforts to comply.
India’s new IT rules, which became effective end-May, are aimed at regulating content on social media firms and making them more accountable to legal requests for swift removal of posts and sharing details on the originators of messages.
Technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has slammed Twitter for
deliberately defying the law and said all social media firms must abide
by the new rules.
In
recent weeks, as acrimony grew between New Delhi and Twitter, Indian
police have filed at least five cases against the company or its
officials, including some related to child pornography and a
controversial map of India on its career page.
Police in two Indian states have named Twitter India chief Manish
Maheshwari in complaints. Separately, the state of Uttar Pradesh has
challenged in the Supreme Court a bar on police action against
Maheshwari, after a lower court protected him against arrest over an
accusation that the platform was used to spread hate.
