India imposes new rules on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube

India imposes new rules on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube

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The rules require any social media company to create three roles in India: a “compliance officer” who will ensure compliance with local laws; a “complaints officer” who will handle complaints from Indian users about their platforms; and a “contact person” available to Indian authorities 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Companies will also have to publish a compliance report every month, detailing how many complaints they have received and what action they have taken.

Social media platforms will also be required to remove certain types of content, including posts that feature “total or partial nudity”, a “sexual act” or “impersonation including transformed images”.

Large social networks, which India will soon define based on the number of users, will have three months to comply with policy changes, while smaller ones must comply immediately, the government said.

The new rules come in the wake of a tense standoff between Twitter and the Indian government. Twitter has reinstated several accounts that the government has ordered to be withdrawn using what it called “incendiary and baseless” hashtags related to farmers protesting the new agricultural reforms. The platform eventually removed hundreds of accounts and partially restricted others, but drew a line by refusing to block accounts from journalists, activists and politicians.
At the same time, the rules signal a greater willingness by countries around the world to control large technology companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter, which governments fear have become too powerful with little responsibility.
The worldwide network as we know it may be running out

“Social media is welcome to do business in India – they have done very well, they have brought good business, they have brought a good number of users and they have also empowered ordinary Indians,” Ravi Shankar Prasad, Indian minister of electronics and information technology, he told reporters on Thursday. But he said that while the government “receives criticism and the right to disagree,” technology companies need to do more “against the abuse and misuse of social media.”

Facebook said it would “study carefully” the new rules. “We have always been clear as a company that we accept regulations that set guidelines for facing today’s toughest challenges on the Internet,” a company spokesman told CNN Business. “Facebook is an ally of India and the user’s safety and security agenda is critical for our platforms.”

Twitter and Google, the owner of YouTube, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Some other provisions of India’s rules may turn out to be a little more controversial, particularly the requirement to track down the “first originator” of problematic messages or viral posts. WhatsApp, Facebook’s proprietary mobile messaging app that is very popular in India, has resisted these requirements in the past, saying it would require breaking the app’s end-to-end encryption.
Prasad also highlighted the difference between how social media platforms reacted to events in the United States and India, contrasting the Capitol riots on January 6 with the violent clashes between Indian police and protesters at New Delhi’s Red Fort a few weeks ago. later. (The Indian government previously criticized Twitter for taking immediate action against multiple accounts after the Capitol rebellion, while doing so “grudgingly, reluctantly and long overdue” in India.)

“If there is an attack on the Capitol in Congress, social media will support police action, but if there is an aggressive attack on the Red Fort, the symbol of India’s freedom … there will be a double pattern,” he said. “This is unacceptable.”

Twitter is caught between a rock and a difficult place in India
The climb in India creates a particular challenge for Silicon Valley, as the South Asian country represents one of its largest markets. India has more internet users than any other country except China, but its government has shown an increasing tendency to regulate and restrict (or even completely ban) foreign technology companies in recent years.

At Thursday’s press conference, Prasad cited industry estimates that highlight India’s importance to these companies: WhatsApp has 530 million users in the country. Facebook flagship platform has 410 million users and Facebook owned by Facebook has 210 million. YouTube and Twitter have about 450 million and 17.5 million users, respectively, he said.

CNN’s Esha Mitra contributed to this report.

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