Will Facebook, Instagram and Twitter be blocked this Week? New IT rules to take effect

A core set of rules to regulate digital content with a code of ethics and a three-tier claims redressal framework goes into effect in two days with none of the social media giants -Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, complying with none of them, said government sources. The rules for news sites and OTT platforms were announced in February and given three months to comply. However, the sources said that if the companies do not follow the rules, their status as intermediaries may end, and they may be subject to criminal prosecution.

The rules include:

Appointing compliance officers based in India.

Giving their name and contact address in India, resolution of complaints.

Monitoring of objectionable content.

Reporting of compliance and removal of objectionable content.

"Though they claim the protection of being an intermediary, they exercise their discretion to also modify and adjudicate upon the content through their own norms without any reference to Indian Constitution and laws," sources said.

According to the new laws, the supervisory mechanism will include a committee with representatives from Defense, Foreign Affairs, Home, I&B, Law, Information Technology and Development of Women and Children. In addition, it will have "suo motu powers" to convene hearings on complaints of violation of the Code of Ethics if it so wishes.

The government will also designate an official at the rank of Co-Secretary or higher as an "Authorized Officer" who can direct the content blocking. If an appellate body believes that the content violates the law, it has the power to send the content to a government-controlled committee to block the orders that will be issued.

The government said its goal was to establish a "soft touch progressive institutional mechanism on a level playing field."

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, on February 25, gave social media platforms three months to comply with the new rules. The deadline ends on May 25. Till now, only one company has appointed such officials, the sources said. Some platforms have asked for a six-month deadline, saying they were awaiting instructions from their US headquarters.

Companies like Twitter say they maintain their own fact-checkers that neither identifies nor reveal how the facts are being investigated. Meanwhile, people on social media don't know who to complain to and where their problem will be solved.