Social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram may face a ban in India if they do not comply with the new Intermediary Guidelines set by the Indian government. The deadline to accept the guidelines set by the government will end on May 25.
However, none of the social media platforms have complied with the new regulations yet that were issued by the government three months ago.
If these companies do not comply with the new rules by May 25, they will lose their status and protections as intermediaries and criminal action can be taken against them as per the laws of India, a government official said in a statement.
In February 2021, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had given a three-month time to the social platforms to comply with the new IT rules.
Meanwhile, Facebook on Tuesday said it is working to implement operational processes and aims to comply with that. The social media giant added that it continues to discuss a few of the issues which need more engagement with the government.
Facebook remains committed to people's ability to freely and safely express themselves on our platform, the spokesperson added.
New rules by MeitY
As per the new rules by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the social media platforms will have to appoint compliance officers from India.
The officer will overlook the complaints, monitor the content, and remove it if it is objectionable.
Such rules are not only applicable to social media platforms but also to OTT platforms.
OTT platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and others will have to appoint a grievance redressal officer based in India who will take care of the complaints and act on them in 15 days.
The new rules also mention that the committee will have the sole power to take action on complaints of the violation of codes.
