Fact check on IT rules and ‘Twitter ban’
Replying to the worries of banning Twitter, Internet Freedom Foundation clarifies that reports on losing the “protective shield” of an “intermediary status” emerge from an incorrect reading of the law
Hyderabad: Within a month, this is the second instance that netizens are worried on a possible ban on Twitter in India. It is all related to the new IT rules. On last week of May, when the time to comply for the new IT rules ended, social media users were worried on the future of Twitter Facebook and Instagram.
Now, it started with IT Minister Ravishankar Prasad’s criticism about Twitter for their non-compliance to the new IT rules.
Failing to obey the new IT rules, Twitter lost the legal immunity protection of the Section 79 of IT rules. The section says, an intermediary (Twitter) shall not be liable for any third-party information hosted by it. Soon after losing the protective shield, an FIR was filed against Twitter for not removing ‘misleading content’ about a Muslim man beaten up in Ghaziabad. This triggered the discussions of #Twitterban in India.
Replying to the worries of banning Twitter, Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), a forum working to protect and advance constitutional freedoms in a digital society, clarifies that reports on losing the “protective shield” of an “intermediary status” emerge from an incorrect reading of the law. IFF claims that the intermediary status is not a registration granted by the Government of India. “It is a technical status, according to the law,” the forum tweeted.
They also made it clear that many individuals and organisations had already challenged the new IT rules in court. And the big question of constitutional morality is arising on the IT rules, which courts have to answer. IFF said that even if the law is constitutional and legal, the intermediary status of the social media platforms will be decided by the court.
So entirely, the intermediary status of Twitter and other social media platforms as well as the IT rules can be challenged in the court.
1/ Fact check: We would like to caution against news reports of any social media entity (a significant entity) losing the “protective shield” of an “intermediary status”. This emerges from an incorrect reading of the law. #TwitterBanInIndia https://t.co/r3QNIHDx80
— Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) (@internetfreedom) June 16, 2021
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