Indian Government vs Social Media Apps
What’s the fuzz is all about??
We have been seeing a tremendous number of news and posts related to the new IT rules imposed by the Indian Government that social media apps need to follow. These social media apps including Facebook, Twitter, Koo, and WhatsApp. In the latest development, WhatsApp has sued the Indian government over new regulations.
So what’s this is all about? Let’s break it down in very easy terms.
Chinese Apps Ban
Last year Indian government banned over 200 Chinese apps including the very famous TikTok over concerns that these apps were engaging in activities that threatened “national security and defense of India. New Delhi said that time that they received multiple complaints from various sources, including several reports about the misuse of some mobile apps available on Android and iOS platforms for stealing and secretly transmitting users’ data in an unauthorized manner to the servers outside India.”
New IT Rules
Indian Government released new IT rules in February, giving social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Koo three months to comply. The new rules, which have been in the works since 2018, come weeks after Twitter declined to comply with New Delhi’s order amid a protest by farmers in the capital city. Twitter also declined to comply with New Delhi’s order to remove the tweets spreading misinformation on COVID-19 and tweets related to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The government said at the time that Twitter couldn’t act as the judge or justify non-compliance.
This new Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 includes:
- Active monitoring of content on the platform.
- Platforms will be required to disclose the first originator of a mischievous tweet or message which could be in relation to the sovereignty of India, the security of the state, relations with foreign states, rape, etc. This concept is called “traceability.”
- Platforms would be bound under the law to take down any content flagged by authorities including nudity, revenge porn, morphed photos within 36 hours of receiving a complaint.
- The firms had to set up a complaint redressal mechanism with an officer being based in the country to resolve the matter. They will also have to set up a local office in India.
Social Media apps were supposed to comply with these rules by 25 May.
WhatsApp Sues Indian Government
We already saw that last year Indian government banned over 200 Chinese apps and none of the companies took any legal action in India. They knew that it’s nearly impossible to win a court case in India against the Indian government when the national security issue has been raised. They even would have a hard time finding a lawyer!
Knowing this, WhatsApp has filed a lawsuit in New Delhi against the government’s new digital rules that take effect today, saying these would compel it to break privacy protections to users.
WhatsApp has explained clearly about traceability and why they oppose it in this post.
WhatsApp says it is all for “reasonable and proportionate regulations”, but cannot support “eroding privacy for everyone, violating human rights, and putting innocent people at risk.” Facebook (the parent company of WhatsApp) has always taken Business in India very seriously as India is the second-largest internet market. As per data cited by the government, India has 530 Million (53 crores) WhatsApp users. Knowing all this, this move by Facebook on Wednesday is unusual.
The latest development on Twitter
Twitter has a reputation to remain silent on such matters. But twitter released a statement after the Special Cell of Delhi Police had earlier this week on Monday (May 24) visited Twitter India’s Delhi and Gurgaon offices to allegedly serve a notice asking the company executives to join in the investigation in the “toolkit” case. In simple terms, a toolkit is an online equivalent for protests on social media. Twitter said that they were concerned about its employees in India and the potential threat to freedom of expression.
“We, alongside many in civil society in India and around the world, have concerns with regards to the use of intimidation tactics by the police in response to enforcement of our global Terms of Service, as well as with core elements of the new IT Rules. We plan to advocate for changes to elements of these regulations that inhibit free, open public conversation,” In response to it, the Indian government condemns Twitter’s statement as baseless, false & an attempt to defame India to hide its follies.
What do you think about it? Let me know in the response section down here!