The new IT laws by the Indian government have been making headlines in the past few days. Now that Whatsapp is suing the Indian Government to protect the privacy of their users, Twitter has requested an extension of three months to abide by the same.
Twitter Responds to Police Raids in Delhi and Gurugram Offices
Twitter’s request for the extension of time to implement the new IT laws comes after their offices (in Delhi and Gurugram) recently were visited by the police. They came in to investigate the case of the alleged Congress Toolkit controversy. Following which, Twitter said that they are willing to accept the grievances from their users and law enforcement via the current grievance redressal channel available under the new IT Laws.
The Twitter spokesperson said in a statement that currently, they are concerned about their employees in India and the potential threat to freedom of expression for the people they serve.
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They said that they are also concerned about the “intimidation tactics” used by the police to respond to the enforcement of the global terms of services in accordance with the core values of the new IT laws.
The spokesperson also said that they will continue to have a “constructive dialogue” with the government and will do everything in their power to come up with a collaborative approach. The company plans to advocate for the changes that inhibit free public conversations. As it is the responsibility of the elected officials, industry and the civil society to collectively safeguard the public interest.
Twitter had marked one of the Tweets by the BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra as “manipulated media”. Following which, the Delhi police visited the offices of Twitter in Delhi and Gurugram.
Whatsapp Sues Indian Government Against New IT Laws
The new IT rules by the Indian government were notified on February 25 under the Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Rules 2021. Following this, social media giants were given a deadline until May 26 to follow the rules and makes the changes accordingly. Failing to do so would invite legal actions.
However, Whatsapp recently moved the Delhi High Court against the new IT rules claiming that the rules would violate the privacy of their users.
Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the government is committed to the right to privacy. But at the same time, they also must maintain law and order and ensure national security.
