Twitter revealed its deep concern about the safety of itsemployees in India and “the potential threat to freedom of expression” for itsusers.
This Monday, personnel from Special Cell of Delhi Policevisited the offices of Twitter in Delhi and Gurgaon. The purpose of the visitwas allegedly to serve a notice asking the company executives to join in aprobe regarding the alleged “toolkit” which sought to undermine the Indiangovernment’s response to the pandemic COVID.
Next, Twitter claimed that one company employee, its ChiefCompliance Officer, was being made liable for all the content on the platform.
It must be clarified that it is in the express role of a ChiefCompliance Officer to “ensuring compliance with the IT Act” and this person“shall be liable in any proceedings relating to any relevant third-partyinformation, data or communication link made available or hosted by thatintermediary where he fails to ensure that such intermediary observes duediligence while discharging its duties”.
TrueScoop News explained legal immunity offered in case a social media platform(also called social intermediaries) guarantees the pin-pointing of “firstoriginator” of any message. However, if the social media does not do so inorder to preserve the privacy of its users, then the company’s legal immunitywill be withdrawn. This then exposes the social media company to be legallyliable for all content posted on its platform. And the contact person for thispurpose is the Chief Compliance Officer.
Twitter responded to these developments, “We, alongside manyin civil society in India and around the world, have concerns with regards tothe use of intimidation tactics by the police in response to enforcement of ourglobal Terms of Service, as well as with core elements of the new IT Rules. Weplan to advocate for changes to elements of these regulations that inhibitfree, open public conversation.”
It must be reminded that during the Farmer Protests inJanuary and February, when the IT Ministry asked Twitter to remove certaintweets which the government believed to be allegedly “spreading misinformation”with the potential to “lead to imminent violence affecting public order situationin the country”, Twitter had initially stuck to its guns, but when imprisonmentof its employees was the next step by the government, then Twitter decided tocomply. The company claimed that it complied with about 95% of the requests thegovernment made at the time.
Free speech is a complex concept and the need to balance thestability of the society while allowing enough safety to whistle-blowers andthe like so that the state does not turn into a tyranny has always been atightrope walk.