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While the fight between Twitter and the Indian government is ongoing, let us take a look at 5 key developments that have happened in the last 24 hours.
A lot going on between the big social media companies and the Indian government. The fight began soon after the new IT/social rules came into effect on May 26. While the new IT rules have already come into effect that requires social media platforms to follow certain guidelines to function smoothly in the country, big social platforms are yet to comply with the rules. Companies like Google and Facebook have already announced to soon comply with the new IT rules in the days to come, while WhatsApp and Twitter have (sort of) opposed them.
On Wednesday, WhatsApp moved to Delhi HC over the “traceability” clause in the IT rules, which goes against the app’s key policies of securing chats with end-to-end encryption. Twitter finally opened up on the new IT rules on Thursday and said it will “strive” to comply with the new social guidelines. While the fight between Twitter and the Indian government is ongoing, let us take a look at 5 key developments that have happened in the last 24 hours.
Twitter vs Indian government: Latest update
– The latest fight between the Indian government and Twitter began earlier this week when Delhi police officials visited Twitter’s official. The officials reportedly visited Twitter’s office in connection with a probe over the ongoing “toolkit” row between the ruling BJP and opposition parties.
-After the incident, Twitter opened up for the very first time on Thursday. The microblogging site, via an official statement, expressed concerns over the “potential threat to freedom of expression and intimidation tactics by the police.” The company said, it is concerned about its employees in India and also the potential threat to freedom of expression for the people on Twitter.
-In an official statement, Twitter also said that it will “strive to comply” with the new IT law and will be “strictly guided by principles of transparency”. The company said, “we plan to advocate for changes to elements of these regulations that inhibit free, open public conversation. We will continue our constructive dialogue with the Indian Government and believe it is critical to adopt a collaborative approach.”
-Twitter spokesperson said, “Twitter is deeply committed to the people of India. Our service has proven vital for the public conversation and a source of support for people during the pandemic. To keep our service available, we will strive to comply with applicable law in India. But, just as we do around the world, we will continue to be strictly guided by principles of transparency, a commitment to empowering every voice on the service, and protecting freedom of expression and privacy under the rule of law.”
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-Responding to Twitter, the Indian government said in an official statement, that Twitter must “stop beating around the bush and comply with the laws of the land” instead of “dictating terms” to the world’s largest democracy. “Law making and policy formulations is the sole prerogative of the sovereign and Twitter is just a social media platform and it has no locus in dictating what India’s legal policy framework should be,” the Ministry of Electronics and IT said. The government also assured that all “representatives of social media companies including Twitter are and will always remain safe in India and there is no threat to their personal safety and security.”
