Deepali Kalia-
Published on August 10, 2021 at 16:00 IST
On 10th August, the Centre informed the Delhi High Court that Twitter has complied with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules, 2021) by making permanent appointments to the posts of Resident Grievance Officer, Chief Compliance Officer, and Nodal Contact Person.
“Prima facie, they have appointed Chief Compliance Officer, Resident Grievance Officer, and Nodal Contact Person. As of date, they appear to be in compliance”, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma submitted before the Court.
The following development came while a Single Judge Bench Justice Rekha Palli was hearing a plea filed by Amit Acharya, a practicing advocate against Twitter India and Twitter Inc. for not complying with IT Rules, 2021.
On August 6, Twitter had informed the Delhi High Court that on August 4 it had made permanent appointments to the requisite posts with Shahin Komath appointed as the Nodal Contact Officer and Vinay Prakash appointed as the permanent Resident Grievance Officer and Chief Compliance Officer.
Senior Advocate Sajan Poovayya, who appeared for Twitter, apprised the Bench that fresh affidavits have been submitted and further clarified that earlier the social media company had appointed contingent officers as it did not have a corporate presence in India.
“The plan was always to appoint the officers full-time, the Senior Advocate Poovayya submitted. Further, the officers will directly report to the company’s US office”, Senior Advocate Poovayya added.
ASG Chetan Sharma stating that “It would be better if our affidavit comes on record”, sought adjournment of the matter to file an affidavit.
The Court granted two weeks to the Central government to file its response and recorded in its order that prima facie Twitter has complied with IT Rules, 2021.
The matter has been posted, on October 5, for further hearing.
As per the IT Rules 2021, all social media platforms are required to set up a grievance redressal and compliance mechanism which consists of making appointments to the posts of a Chief Compliance Officer, a Nodal Contact Person, and Resident Grievance Officer.
Also Read: Twitter informs Delhi HC on Permanent Appointments required by IT Rules