Making every effort to comply with new digital rules: Twitter tells govt

New Delhi, June 09: Twitter on Wednesday wrote to the government saying that it is "making every effort" to comply with the new digital rules and had appointed India-based officers on contract amid difficulties due to the pandemic.

"Twitter has been and remains deeply committed to India, and serving vital public conversation taking place on the service. We have assured Govt of India that Twitter is making every effort to comply with new guidelines," the social media giant said in its letter.

"An overview on our progress has been duly shared (with the Government of India). We will continue our constructive dialogue with the Indian Government," it added.

"In order to comply with underlying intention behind guidelines, we've appointed Nodal Contact Person & Resident Grievance Officer on contractual basis as we recruit to fill position on permanent basis," Twitter writes to Govt of India regarding compliance with IT rules," sources told ANI.

The Union ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) has sent a strongly worded notice to Twitter Inc. on 5 June seeking compliance with the new rules.

As per the new IT rules, social media giants such as Twitter and Facebook and others who have over 50 lakh users are required to appoint a grievance officer, a nodal officer and a chief compliance officer. These personnel have to be residents in India.

The new social media guidelines came into effect from May 26, 2021 but Twitter has not complied with the rules.

New IT Rules, Regulations 2021 to be followed by social media platforms

Appoint a Chief Compliance Officer who shall be responsible for ensuring compliance with the Act and Rules. Such a person should be a resident in India.

Appoint a Nodal Contact Person for 24x7 coordination with law enforcement agencies. Such a person shall be a resident in India.

Appoint a Resident Grievance Officer who shall perform the functions mentioned under Grievance Redressal Mechanism. Such a person shall be a resident in India.

Publish a monthly compliance report mentioning the details of complaints received and action taken on the complaints as well as details of contents removed proactively by the significant social media intermediary.

Voluntary User Verification Mechanism: Users who wish to verify their accounts voluntarily shall be provided an appropriate mechanism to verify their accounts and provided with demonstrable and visible mark of verification. Giving

Users An Opportunity to Be Heard: In cases where significant social media intermediaries removes or disables access to any information on their own accord, then a prior intimation for the same shall be communicated to the user who has shared that information with a notice explaining the grounds and reasons for such action. Users must be provided an adequate and reasonable opportunity to dispute the action taken by the intermediary.

Removal of Unlawful Information: An intermediary upon receiving actual knowledge in the form of an order by a court or being notified by the Appropriate Govt. or its agencies through authorized officer should not host or publish any information which is prohibited under any law in relation to the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India, public order, friendly relations with foreign countries etc.