Laws And Rules Are Applicable To Platforms Regardless Of Who Owns It, Says Rajeev Chandrasekhar The minister also said that obligations of intermediaries, earlier was limited to notifying users of rules but now there will be much more definite obligations on platforms
By Teena Jose
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Rajeev Chandrasekhar, minister of state for information technology, said that the big tech companies will be answerable for everything they do and stressed that laws and rules are applicable to platforms regardless of who owns it.
While conversing in the Twitter Spaces, Chandrasekhar spoke about the Elon Musk's Twitter takeover and Twitter's compliance issue. The minister said that, "Our policies for the company will not change with change in their ownership. Be it Musk or anybody who would own Twitter, they will still have to comply with the framework that's been set."
"Interests of 'Digital Nagariks' are at the core of new legislation. Gone are the times when big tech companies could get away. Now, they will be held accountable for everything they do," said the minister.
The minister also said that all social media firms must publish the rules and regulations, privacy policy and user agreement on their website, mobile-based application, or both, in all Indian languages and not just Hindi. This is also aimed to empower 'Digital Nagriks.'
"The obligations of intermediaries, earlier was limited to notifying users of rules but now there will be much more definite obligations on platforms. Intermediaries have to make efforts that no unlawful content posted on platform," said the minister.
The minister also said that the latest amendment of IT rules will put more definite due diligence obligations on social media companies to make efforts that no unlawful content or misinformation is posted on their platforms.
In a strong message to big tech companies, the minister asserted that community guidelines of platforms, regardless of whether they are headquartered in the US, Europe, or elsewhere, cannot undermine the constitutional rights of Indians, when such platforms operate in India.
