- India’s new IT rules kick in today, May 26.
- While Facebook and Google have agreed to comply, WhatsApp — a Facebook subsidiary — is suing the Indian government.
- Here are some of the biggest issues that are making it difficult for social networking companies to comply with the Indian government new regulations.
While Facebook and Google have agreed to comply with India’s new IT rules, not everyone is on board. Facebook’s subsidiary, WhatsApp, has moved the Delhi High Court to
sue the Indian government over its new regulations.
Among the notable names, it’s only homegrown social media platform Koo, which has complied with the rules.
According to these new rules, ‘significant’ intermediaries are required to have a chief compliance officer, a nodal contact person and a grievance officer — all three of whom are required to be residents of India.
The good news is that it’s unlikely that any of these platforms are going to be banned by the Indian government. But it is not likely to give up without a fight. “The government has no power to ban any of these companies under these rules. Noncompliance results in loss of safe harbour protection for a company leading to increased liability,” explained Mishi Choudhary, the director and founder of Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC).
Here are some of the key issues that are causing worry about social media companies like WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and others in India as the new IT rules come into play starting today, May 26: