Last Updated on May 25, 2021 at 1:26 pm
Social media bigwigs Facebook, twitter and Instagram may face a ban in India from May 26 if they do not comply by the new guidelines of the country.
The deadline to accept the guidelines set by the government will end on May 25 but so far none of the platforms has complied with the new regulations yet.
The Indian version of Twitter, Koo, is the only social media app that has complied with the new guidelines ahead of the May 25 deadline. In February 2021, the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MEITy) had given a three-month time to the social platforms to comply with the new IT rules.
It is a crucial moment for the social media companies because if they 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.
A Facebook company spokesperson said in a statement, “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. Pursuant 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.”
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology guidelines state that all the social media platforms will have to appoint a compliance officer from India. The officer will overlook the complaints, monitor the content and remove it if found objectionable.
