IT minister likely to meet FB, Twitter heads post Monsoon Session

Sources said they are likely to discuss the newly enacted Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code, better known as the IT Rules of 2021 as the intermediaries will seek clarity on standard operating procedures and also place their concerns pertaining to certain operational issues.

Hyderabad: Soon after the Monsoon Session of Parliament culminates on August 13, newly-inducted IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is likely to meet senior executives from social media intermediaries such as Facebook, Twitter and Google. Sources said they are likely to discuss the newly enacted Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code, better known as the IT Rules, 2021, as the social media companies will seek clarity on standard operating procedures and also place their concerns pertaining to certain operational issues.

The meeting assumes significance as the government and tech giants, especially Twitter, have been engaged in a tense standoff in recent months over the country's new IT rules. The micro-blogging platform even lost its intermediary status and became liable for user-generated content. The Centre had earlier filed an affidavit before the Delhi High Court alleging that Twitter Inc had failed to fully comply with the IT Rules 2021 in spite of the three months time granted to all Significant Social Media Intermediaries (SSMIs) for the same. On July 28, the Delhi High Court pulled up Twitter for not complying with the recently amended IT rules and also granted it a final chance to file a better affidavit comprising details of the person appointed as the chief compliance officer and grievance officer.

The IT Rules, 2021, were introduced to regulate the functioning of social media companies as intermediaries and also over-the-top (OTT) platforms. The rules mandate these platforms to take down contentious content quicker and appoint grievances redressal officers based in the given country to deal with online content flagged by authorities and courts.