The Delhi High Court on Friday deferred the hearing of a plea filed against Twitter India for non-compliance of Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021(IT Rules 2021) after the Central Government’s request for time to verify whether Twitter has made appointments in accordance of the New IT Rules, 2021 to August 10.
Senior Advocate Sajan Poovayya appearing on behalf of Twitter India informed the single-judge bench of Justice Rekha Palli that Twitter has made permanent appointments to the post of Chief Compliance Officer, Resident Grievance Officer and Nodal Contact Person as mandated by the IT Rules 2021.
It is pertinent to note that the petition has been filed before the Delhi High Court alleging that Twitter has not complied with the Centre’s IT Rules to appoint a resident grievance officer, and sought directions to the social media platform to comply without any delay. Petitioner Amit Acharya stated that the IT Rules came into effect from February 25 and the Centre had given three months to every social media intermediary, including Twitter, to comply with them. In his plea, filed through advocate Akash Vajpai and Manish Kumar, Acharya said he came to know about the alleged non-compliance when he tried to lodge a complaint against a couple of tweets. Under the new digital rules, social media companies like Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter have been asked to identify within 36 hours the originator of a flagged message as well as conduct additional due diligence, including the appointment of a chief compliance officer, nodal contact person and resident grievance officer.
Also Read: Delhi HC stays Single-Judge order providing one extra mark to FMGE candidates over disputed question
Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma sought time to take instruction on whether Twitter India had complied with IT Rules,2021.
On the previous date of hearing, the court had granted time to Twitter India to come up with a ‘better affidavit’ clearly setting out the details of the person who have been stated to be appointed as Chief Compliance Officer cum Resident Grievance Officer in compliance with the Information Technology.