Social media giants like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and Instagram may face ban in India if they fail to comply with the new intermediary guidelines for social media platforms. The three-month deadline given by the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MEITy) to accept these guidelines ends today i.e. May 25 but none of the giants have so far accepted the new regulations. The rules will be effective from tomorrow despite these companies seeking a total six-month delay in their implementation.
The rules include appointment of compliance officials, giving their name and contact address in India, complaint resolution, monitoring of objectionable content, compliance report and removal of objectionable content. So far, no company except for one has appointed any such officials, sources said. Some platforms have asked for a six-month deadline, saying that they were still waiting for instructions from their headquarters in the US.
Meanwhile, Facebook has indicated that it will comply with the IT rules. “We aim to comply with the provisions of the IT rules and continue to discuss a few of the issues which need more engagement with the government. According to the IT rules, we are working to implement operational processes and improve efficiencies. Facebook remains committed to people’s ability to freely and safely express themselves on our platform,” an official spokesperson of the company said in a statement.
