India accuses Twitter of ignoring new internet rules الإنترنت

Social media is losing its status as a service provider in India Photo: AFP

The Indian government has accused the SMS service Twitter of ignoring new Internet rules. The minister in charge of the internet said the US giant did not follow the guidelines that came into effect in India on May 26.

The Indian government accused SMS service Twitter on Wednesday of ignoring new internet rules. Internet Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the US giant was not following the guidelines that came into effect in India on May 26. In the future, Twitter may be responsible for the Tweets that users post to the Network via its Service.

Until now, online networks in India were considered a service provider. This protected them from criminal prosecution in relation to the content they distributed. This protection was lifted by the Broker Guidelines issued on May 26.

The new guidelines oblige IT companies to disclose information about the original authors of online content which, according to Indian authorities, could jeopardize state sovereignty, security or public order. Additionally, companies must appoint a responsible person to handle disputes.

On June 5, the government in New Delhi announced that the US company Facebook would follow the guidelines, but Twitter would not. The Indian government took this opportunity to issue a “final warning” that Twitter must also comply with the new guidelines.

The Times of India reported on Wednesday that Twitter has lost its “safe status” to protection from criminal prosecution if “illegal” and “inflammatory” content is spread across its channels.

Twitter said it would make “every effort” to comply with the new guidelines. Experts assumed Twitter would face a deluge of charges.

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