The Centre on Monday advised the Delhi High Court that social media big Twitter has did not adjust to India’s new IT Rules, which might result in shedding its immunity conferred underneath the Information Technology(IT) Act.

The Centre, in an affidavit filed within the excessive court docket, stated as per the small print obtained from Twitter’s web site or cell utility, as an interim, the grievances from India are being dealt with by the platform’s official positioned within the US which quantities to non-compliance of the IT Rules, 2021.

The IT Rules, 2021 are the regulation of the land and Twitter is mandatorily required to adjust to the identical, stated the affidavit filed in response to a plea by lawyer Amit Acharya, wherein he claimed non-compliance of the Centre’s new IT Rules by the microblogging platform.

The matter is scheduled to come back up for listening to on Tuesday.

The Centre’s affidavit, filed by N Samaya Balan, working as Scientist-E within the Cyber Law Group with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), stated admittedly Twitter is an middleman inside the that means of provision of IT Act, 2000 and a Significant Social Media Intermediary (SSMI) underneath the IT Rules 2021.

It stated that inspite of the three months’ time granted to all SSMIs to adjust to the IT Rules 2021 having expired on May 26, Twitter has “failed to fully comply” with the identical. The IT Rules have been notified on February 25.

“I submit that the respondent no.2 (Twitter) had initially appointed the interim resident grievance officer (RGO) and the interim nodal contact person. Later the respondent no.2 (Twitter) informed the answering respondent (MeitY) that the said interim RGO and nodal officer have withdrawn/ resigned from their positions.

“I submit that as per the details gleaned from the respondent No. 2 website/mobile application, in the interim the grievances from India are being handled by personnel of respondent No. 2 situated in the United States of America which amounts to non-compliance with the IT Rules 2021,” the affidavit stated.

The affidavit, filed via Central authorities standing counsel Ripudaman Singh Bhardwaj, stated that Twitter has did not adjust to the IT Rules, 2021 as on July 1 for the next causes – chief compliance officer has not been appointed; the place of the RGO is vacant; the place of nodal contact individual (even on an interim foundation) is vacant, and the bodily contact handle, which was proven to be there on May 29, will not be obtainable once more on Twitter web site.

“I submit that the IT Rules, 2021 are the law of the land and respondent no. 2 is mandatorily required to comply with the same.

“I submit any non-compliance amounts to breach of the provisions of the IT Rules, 2021 thereby leading to respondent no. 2 losing its immunity conferred under section 79(1) of the IT Act, 2000,” the officer stated.

The reply added that the immunity conferred on intermediaries underneath the availability of regulation is a conditional immunity topic to the middleman satisfying the circumstances underneath the Act and as supplied in Rule 7, failure to look at the IT guidelines,2021 ends in provisions of Section 79(1) of the IT Act, not being relevant to such an middleman.

The Centre stated as Twitter qualifies as a SSMI, it’s obligated to adjust to the provisions of the IT Rules, 2021.

On July 3, Twitter has additionally filed its affidavit stating that it was within the “final stages” of appointing an interim chief compliance officer and an interim resident grievance officer underneath the brand new IT Rules.

In the meantime, grievances raised by Indian customers are being appeared into by a grievance officer, it has stated.

The microblogging web site has additionally stated it could fall inside the definition of a “significant social media intermediary” underneath the IT Rules, 2021.

The guidelines search to manage dissemination and publication of content material in cyber house, together with social media platforms, and have been notified in February by the central authorities.

Twitter stated in “substantial compliance” with Rule 3(2) and Rule 4(1)(c) of the brand new IT Rules, it did appoint an interim resident grievance officer.

However, even earlier than steps could possibly be taken to utterly formalise the association, the interim resident grievance officer withdrew his candidature on June 21, it stated and denied that it has not complied with the middleman tips.

In his plea, filed via advocates Akash Vajpai and Manish Kumar, Acharya stated that he got here to know concerning the alleged non-compliance when he tried to lodge a criticism towards a few tweets.

Twitter has argued that the plea will not be maintainable as a writ petition and that Acharya moved the court docket “prematurely” with out ready for the redressal of his grievance underneath the foundations.

It stated Acharya had no locus standi to boost a criticism with respect to the tweets in query and added it has knowledgeable that the criticism has now been thought-about and disposed of.