Twitter Inc informed the Delhi High Court on Thursday that it will file its first Compliance Report in accordance with the IT Rules 2021 within July 11, while submitting that it “reserves its right to challenge the legality, validity and vires of the Rules,” Live Law reported.
Also informing the court in its memo that it has appointed an interim Chief Compliance Officer via a third party, the company sought time to appoint a direct employee for that role and other officers as specified by the Rules.
The Delhi High Court granted Twitter the time it sought to appoint the officers but clarified that no interim protection is given, meaning Twitter will have to face the consequences of its non-compliance, including legal action. The next hearing is scheduled for July 28.
The tech giant also mentioned in its memo that it has been in frequent communication with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) about the requirements under the Rules, including the issue of the ministry developing standard operating procedures as regards the liability of various officers appointed under Rule 4.
Twitter said it is in the process of appointing an Indian resident as its interim resident grievance officer (RGO) and expects to do so within July 11. Meanwhile, the duties of the RGO are being performed by the grievance officer who will continue until the new appointment.
The MeitY introduced the new Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Rules, 2021 in February to regulate content on OTT platforms, social media intermediaries and digital news media. The Rules came into effect on May 26.
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They mandate social media intermediaries to appoint officers who are Indian citizens to key compliance roles that have oversight over the additional due diligence required by the Rules. They also specify that failure of “significant” social media intermediaries — ones with more than 50 lakh registered users — to adhere to the Rules will lead to the loss of their intermediary status, laying them open to lawsuits and criminal prosecution.
By not complying with the new IT Rules ‘fully’, Twitter lost its intermediary status in the country and currently has no legal immunity.