Will Facebook, Twitter get banned in India starting May 26?
Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp have not yet accepted the Union government’s new IT rules and the deadline was today, May 25. This has led to many believing that the social media giants could get banned in India starting tomorrow, May 26. As of now, only the Koo app, which is an Indian alternative to Twitter, has implemented the rules. Here's what you need to know as a social media user living in India:
What are the new IT rules?
According to the new set of ruled rolled out by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, all the social media platforms will have to appoint compliance officers from India. This officer will be responsible to look over all the complaints that arrive at his desk regarding the social media platform that he is looking after. Also, they will monitor the content and even have the power to remove any content if it is objectionable. These rules are applicable to both social media platforms as well as OTT platforms.
The government basically wants these companies to include representatives from various ministries and form a committee to regulate the content. The new set of rules also claim that the committee will have the sole power to take actions on complaints of the violation of codes.
Should you be worried?
If the social media platforms fail to implement the new rules, they will have to face tough challenges from the government. However, Facebook has already indicated that it will comply with the IT rules. An official Facebook 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. According 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."
This means that the social media giants might comply with the rules soon and thus we will not loose access to our social media accounts.
