Why Twitter lost its legal indemnity in India and What is new IT rules Indian 2021

Twitter stands to lose a lot by failing to follow with new IT rules

Twitter is a microblogging site that has gained popularity worldwide. People prefer this medium owing to the fact, that it lets people opine on various social, cultural, political, domestic, and international issues. They can follow people who are holding important portfolio since the views of such powerful people means a lot. A layman can get access to such celebrities by means of Twitter. So there is very little dispute about the significance of Twitter. The world of social media has become better & bigger due to the presence of Twitter. However, Twitter seems to have run into a problem especially in India. 

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We will mention in this article, how Twitter stands to lose a lot by failing to follow the directives of the Government of India. 

Read this article till the end. You will get the necessary information in this regard. Twitter needs to amend few things or else its operation in India will not be very smooth, going by the latest development.

Why Twitter lost its legal indemnity in India 

New IT rules came into existence on May 25th. The provisions and regulations stated in the new IT rules are very significant. The government of India wants it to be applied in letter & spirit by all parties coming under the purview of these rules. The stand of Government in this regard seems very firm. Anybody found not complying with these rules will have a hard time & Twitter can't be an exception.

These rules intend to empower ordinary users of social media & OTT platforms. The grievances of ordinary users will be addressed under these rules. So it provides a level playing field to the users as well. This has been the greatest hallmark of these new IT rules.

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Twitter lost its legal indemnity in India for not being able to fully comply with the new IT rules. Undoubtedly, it's a huge setback for Twitter, but law of the land needs to be respected. Nobody can challenge it and expect to have a smooth sailing especially if your business interest and stake is massive in the market of that country.

The global microblogging platform Twitter lost its legal protection in India on June 16 over its failure to comply with the government’s new IT rules.

June 16 will always remain a bad day for Twitter, the reason being it lost its legal protection that day for not being able to adhere to the prescribed set of rules under the new IT rules. It needs to ponder over this situation, as it will be wiser on the part of Twitter to toe the line of the Government of India. The new rules have given a sigh of relief to a lot of users therefore, it's a historic development in the context of social media. 

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Jack Dorsey has a lot to think about, as his brainchild Twitter which went on to become a very massive microblogging platform has hit a major roadblock in India. The Indian market is too huge for him to move out of it. The user base of Twitter in India is colossal, to say the least. Dorsey can't consider the option of closing down the operation of Twitter in India & in case, if he decides to do so then Twitter stands to lose a lot financially, reputation-wise and user base-wise as well. His options are very limited in this case.  His business acumen will not perhaps guide him to make an exit from India. 

Twitter has now lost its "intermediary " status in India which gave protection/ immunity from liabilities over any third-party data hosted by the platform. 

After losing this case, Twitter will be held accountable for the objectionable tweets as per Information Technology Act, 2000 and the country's penal laws. This case has a huge connotation because this was the first instance in which any US-based social media platform has lost legal protection in India. Twitter needs to contemplate and opt for a practical solution and that would be to abide by the prescribed set of rules recommended under the new IT rules. Twitter has to seriously look into this issue. It needs immediate attention. Twitter is in for some hard time if it decides to not respect the laws of India in the context of social media. 

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Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad, India's Electronics and Information Technology Minister has stated that " Twitter chose the path of deliberate defiance when it comes to the Intermediary Guidelines". 

Mr. Prasad even went to the extent of saying that Twitter has been biased and selectively labeling some content as manipulated media and ignoring others.  "Further, what is perplexing is that Twitter fails to address the grievances of users by refusing to set up process as mandated by the law of the land. Additionally, it chooses a policy of flagging manipulates media, only when it suits, its likes and dislikes, " he wrote in a Twitter thread. 

This issue has already turned into a major one and the only way Twitter can control this damage is by abiding by the Government's instructions thereby respecting the rules stated by the Government. Twitter has rubbed things the wrong way. It is evident now. Twitter needs serious introspection. Dorsey must get his act right and put things on track. Already enough damage has been caused to the reputation of Twitter. 

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The opinion of digital experts have been sought in regards to the implications of this latest development, to understand what it means for Twitter and brands in India. 

Most of them felt, that with Twitter losing its intermediary status and hence, its legal immunity, they will be made liable for all the content published on the platform. This will bring Twitter under severe pressure since it has been a place for unfiltered and controversial content. A lot of brands will be compelled to think whether they want to remain associated with this platform. Eventually, Twitter will follow the prescribed instructions however, till such time brands and advertisers will have to be a bit cautious.

Conclusion 

We have purposefully picked this article to be published, a lot of readers want to know about this case. There is a lot of buzz and curiosity about this development. Twitter cannot breach the law of the land. Why only  Twitter,  no business entity will be allowed to work against the policies of the state. Anybody found violating the laws of the land will be put under the scanner and legal actions will be initiated. The Government of India has to look after the interest of the users as well. In democratic set up rights and privileges are given, but along with it responsibilities also come. Nobody is bigger than the law, this case has once again established this fact. The ball is in Twitter's court. It needs to take a call in the right direction. Chances are there it will respect the prescribed set of rules and regulations. Its reputation and business interest are at stake so it can be expected that good sense will prevail at the end of the day with Twitter. The next few days or months will clarify the picture. It will be interesting to see how thing unfolds and what will be the stand of Twitter in this connection.

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