Social media company Twitter on Tuesday said that it has appointed an interim chief compliance officer in compliance with the new information technology rules, reported PTI. The company said that the details of the official will be shared with the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology soon.
The new information technology rules – that were announced in February and became effective in May – are framed to regulate social media companies, streaming and digital news content, virtually bringing them, for the first time, under the ambit of government supervision.
Among other things, the “Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021” regulations require these platforms to appoint chief compliance officers, in order to make sure the rules are followed, nodal officers, to coordinate with law enforcement agencies, and grievance officers.
Twitter had said it was “making every effort” to comply with the new rules after the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology told the social media company on June 5 that it has one last chance to comply with the rules or face “unintended consequences”. The social media company had said it has appointed a nodal contact person and a resident grievance officer on a contract basis. It had then added that the company was in “advanced stages of finalising” a chief compliance officer.
On Tuesday, a Twitter spokesperson reiterated that the company was making make every effort to comply with the new guidelines. The spokesperson added that the company was keeping the ministry apprised of progress at every step of the process.
Earlier, Twitter had been critical of the regulations. The social media company had said it was concerned about the “potential threat” to freedom of expression as India’s new social media rules came into effect. The company had added that it will “strive to comply with applicable law” in India, but will be strictly guided by the principles of transparency.
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