The list includes Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Koo, Sharechat, and Telegram. All giants of the social media world, who have agreed to fully or partially implement the Indian government’s new IT rules concerning digital media ethics.
Stop beating around the bush and comply with laws of the land!
Indian Government Spokesperson
Tougher Rules in India
The new, tougher, rules include a number of measures and guidelines: tech companies will be required by law to comply with takedown requests of unlawful, misinformation, and violent content within 24 hours.
In addition to this, there will be a requirement for firms to appoint compliance officers, and nodal contact, and residential grievance officers.
The Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code was initially met with some resistance by tech companies, but the Indian government has now told them to get on with it and follow the laws of the land.
Background
It was back in February that the government initially asked all of the major platforms to comply with the new regulations.
The initial deadline was for May 26. Recently there has been a struggle between authorities and tech firms as they look to implement the measures, with WhatsApp initially seeking court action.
Facebook, which owns WhatsApp, had argued that its existing measures were in line with regulations and sufficient to meet the requirements.
It has also stated that the new rules for intermittencies have placed its end-to-end encryption benefits at risk.
Social Media Growth in India
India has been the battleground for big tech companies over the past ten years, with both Amercian and Chinese firms vieing for dominance.
WhatsApp has amassed some 530 million users in India. With YouTube said to have in excess of 450 million users, and Facebook close to 400 million, the market is huge.
China is also still a big player, although a number of Chinese apps had been banned from the country.
The full impact of the new measures is yet to be seen.