In February 2021, the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology announced new guidelines for social media companies, which required, among other things, the appointment of a chief compliance officer and the removal of content within 36 hours when requested by authorities, to take effect in May.[1]
Several companies, such as Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp, failed to confirm that they would comply and requested a 6-month delay to the enforcement of the law.[2] Koo, an India-based alternative to Twitter, announced it had complied with the law,[3] while Facebook announced its intent to comply.[4] On May 26, WhatsApp took the Indian government to court, stating that they believed the new laws were "unconstitutuional".[5]
References edit
- ^ "Why Facebook, Twitter, Instagram could be banned in India from tomorrow?". BusinessToday. 2021-05-25. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
- ^ Sarkar, Shankhyaneel (2021-05-25). "Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter ban from May 26? All you need to know". HindustanTimes. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
- ^ Tewari, Saumya (2021-05-22). "Koo complies with intermediary guidelines for social media platforms". mint. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
- ^ "Facebook to comply with provisions of the IT rules". www.telegraphindia.com. 2021-05-25. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
- ^ Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (2021-05-26). "WhatsApp sues Indian government over 'mass surveillance' internet laws". the Guardian. Retrieved 2021-05-26.