The microblogging site Twitter has lost its status as an intermediary platform in India as it does not comply with new IT rules.

As per the government sources, Twitter is the only social media platform among the mainstream that has not adhered to the new laws. 

What this means for Twitter

Twitter will now be held responsible for tweets, data hosted by it. It will not be considered as a platform hosting something that somebody has tweeted, but it will be editorially responsible for the posts.

According to an ANI report, Twitter has been named in an FIR filed by the Uttar Pradesh Police in connection with an incident in Ghaziabad. So, Twitter is not immune to criminal charges for what somebody posts on the platform. Its top executives may now be questioned for any content that the authorities feel unlawful, inflammatory etc.

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If there is any charge against Twitter, then it will be liable for any punishment under any law, including the Indian Penal Code.

If Twitter decides to comply with the IT rules, it may again come under the legal cover of a third party.

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What does Section 79 of the Information Technology Act 2020 say?

An intermediary will be exempted from liability for any third-party information, data or communication link made available or hosted by it. It will be exempted if the function of the intermediary is “limited to providing access to a communication system over which information made available by third parties is transmitted or temporarily stored or hosted”.

The exemption is provided if the intermediary does not initiate the transmission, select the receiver of the transmission and select or modify the information.

Will Twitter users be affected? Will Twitter be banned?

No, the withdrawal of the intermediary status does not mean either of the two. There will be no impact on Twitter users.

Why Twitter lost the legal cover

IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said Twitter has failed to comply with the intermediary guidelines which were introduced on March 25 and came into effect on May 26. Twitter was given multiple opportunities but it “deliberately” chose to not comply. On India’s mico-blogging platform, the minister posted his statement and said Twitter chooses to flag content “only when it suits”.