• Friday, March 29, 2024

Business

Google, Facebook IT rule-compliance reports impress India minister

Indian information technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad (Photo by DOMINIQUE FAGET/AFP via Getty Images)

By: Shubham Ghosh

INDIA’S information technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday (3) praised social media platforms like Google, Facebook and Instagram for publishing their maiden compliance report on voluntary removal of offensive posts under the new information technology rules. He called it to be a big step towards transparency.

Under the new information technology rules, large digital platforms that have more than 5 million users are required to come up with periodic compliance reports every month, revealing the details of complaints received and action taken thereon.

Google, Facebook IT rule-compliance reports impress India minister
Representational Image: iStock

“Nice to see significant social media platforms like Google, Facebook and Instagram following the new IT Rules. First compliance report on voluntary removal of offensive posts published by them as per IT Rules is a big step towards transparency,” Prasad tweeted.

Twitter could face more heat
The compliance reports by Google, Facebook and Instagram are likely to turn the heat on Twitter, which has so far locked horns with the Indian government over the new rules.

The Narendra Modi government has confronted Twitter for deliberate defiance and failure to comply with the new information technology rules and not appointing the requisite officers, causing it to losing the ‘safe harbour’ immunity.

Twitter has of late found itself under the scanner over a number of issues, ranging from allegations of non-compliance with the new information technology rules to accusations of circulating a controversial video that could potentially harm communal harmony in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh to displaying a wrong map of India to having child pornography and sexual abuse content on its platform.

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