ITV

Tag: Twitter

  • India’s Koo eyes expansion in Nigeria after the country bans Twitter

    KOLKATA:Twitter’s Indian substitute social media platform Koo is expanding its operations in Nigeria by adding local languages, besides leveraging the ‘talk to type’ feature on its application. The move comes after the microblogging site Twitter was banned in the African country.

    “Now the platform is available in Nigeria. We’re thinking of enabling the local languages there too. What say?,” co-founder and CEO Aprameya Radhakrishna asked Saturday.

    The federal government of Nigeria suspended the operations of Twitter indefinitely in the country on 4 June. Notably, the ban was announced two days after the microblogging site deleted an “abusive” tweet made by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, and suspended his account for 12 hours.

    As per a PTI report, Koo’s Radhakrishna said the platform is keen on making inroads into the Nigerian market. Now, the country has an opportunity for microblogging sites, he added. Koo will abide by the local laws of each country that it operates in, he mentioned.

    Koo was founded in March 2020 as a micro-blogging platform in Indian languages. It also rolled out the ‘talk to type’ feature in March, so anyperson may share their thoughts easily with minimal keyboard interface, in a targeted drive to tap regional markets.

    The platform started getting attention at the beginning of this year amid the Twitter-Indian government standoff.

    Endorsed by government officials, Koo has verified handles of MeitY, MyGov, Digital India, India Post, National Informatics Centre (NIC), National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT), Common Services Center, UMANG app, Digi Locker, National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) and Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) to name a few.

    Twitter has been constantly in conflict with the Indian government especially now, over the compliance of the new IT rules. The government on Saturday issued ‘one last notice’ to Twitter Inc asking it to immediately comply with the new IT rules, failing which it could face stern action and lose exemption from liability under section 79 of the IT Act, 2000.

    It is will be interesting for not only Nigerian but also Indian social media users to see how Koo fares, as a replacement brand for the banned Twitter in Nigeria.

    In similar fashion, when TikTok, the Chinese application was banned in India, another Indian application Chingari was able to leverage itself with some level of success in India. Even Chingari enjoyed apparent Indian government approval. 

    If Koo succeeds in Nigeria, it will bolster its confidence to compete with Twitter in India with renewed vigor. And in the eventuality of an Indian ban on Twitter over the current noncompliance of the new IT rules, even seek to become the preferred alternative choice over Indian social media. 

    As per reports, Koo has already complied with the new rules and shared the necessary information with the government.

  • Govt serves ‘one last notice’ to Twitter to ‘immediately’ comply with IT rules

    New Delhi: The government on Saturday issued ‘one last notice’ to Twitter Inc asking it to immediately comply with the new IT rules, failing which it could face stern action and lose exemption from liability under section 79 of the IT Act, 2000. This essentially means that the platform could be held responsible for content posted by the users.

    “The provisions for significant social media intermediaries under the Rules have already come into force on 26 May and it has been more than a week but Twitter has refused to comply with the provisions of these rules,” the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) wrote to Twitter’s deputy general counsel, Jim Baker on Saturday.

    According to the ministry, the US company has not informed about the details of the chief compliance officer. The resident grievance officer and nodal contact person nominated is not an employee of Twitter Inc in India, as required by rules. Furthermore, the office address of Twitter Inc shared by the company is that of a law firm in India, which is also not as per rules.

    Twitter’s refusal to comply with the rules demonstrated its “lack of commitment and efforts towards providing a safe experience for the people of India on its platform,” it said. The ministry highlighted that the US tech giant has been operational in India for over a decade and “it is beyond belief that it has still doggedly refused to create mechanism that will enable the people of India to resolve their issues on the platform in a timely and transparent manner and through fair processes, by India based, clearly identified resources.”

    Though with effect from 26 May, “consequences follow” given Twitter’s non-compliance with rules, however, the ministry wrote, as a “gesture of goodwill”, it is giving Twitter Inc one last notice to immediately comply with the rules, failing which it will be liable for consequences as per the IT Act and other penal laws of India.

    The new IT (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) rules, 2021, recommend a three-tier mechanism for regulation of all online media. As per the rules, each significant social media intermediary is required to appoint a chief compliance officer, a nodal contact person for 24×7 coordination with law enforcement agencies and a resident grievance officer. All three should be resident Indians.

    The intermediaries are also required to prominently publish on their website, app or both, the name of the grievance officer and his/her contact details as well as the mechanism by which a user or a victim may make a complaint. The grievance officer would be required to acknowledge the complaint within 24 hours and resolve it within 15 days from its receipt. The government has also asked the significant social media intermediaries providing services primarily in the nature of messaging “to enable identification of the first originator of the information.”

  • WhatsApp appoints grievance officer for India

    WhatsApp appoints grievance officer for India

    KOLKATA: Amid talks over implementation of new IT rules, messaging platform WhatsApp has appointed Paresh B Lal as grievance officer in India.

    WhatsApp has updated the new appointment on its website so users can contact Paresh B through a post box in Banjara Hills at Hyderabad in Telangana state. As per a PTI report, other large digital companies like Google have also started updating their websites to reflect the respective appointments of grievance officers in these organisations. Twitter also informed the Delhi high court that it has appointed the grievance redressal officer.

    The government issued new intermediary guidelines for social media platforms on 25 February with a three-month deadline. It directed intermediaries to appoint a grievance officer based in India for a time-bound redressal of user complaints. As per the rules, a social media intermediary is also required to appoint a chief compliance officer, a nodal contact person for 24×7 coordination. They will also have to publish a monthly compliance report mentioning the details of complaints received and action taken.

    After the rules came into effect on 26 May, the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) wrote to “Significant Social Media Intermediaries” (SSMIs) asking for details of compliance.

    Under the new “the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Ethics Code) Rules, 2021,” SSMIs are defined as social media companies with more than 50 lakh registered users. Hence, Twitter, Facebook, Facebook-owned WhatsApp and Instagram fall under the SSMIs category.

  • Twitter complies with new IT rules

    Twitter complies with new IT rules

    New Delhi: The social media giant Twitter on Monday told the Delhi high court that it has appointed the grievance redressal officer, as required under the new IT (guidelines for intermediaries and digital media ethics code) rules, 2021.

    The court was hearing a plea by one Amit Acharya, alleging that Twitter India has not complied with the IT Rules, according to which it was required to appoint a Resident Grievance Officer, Nodal Officer and Chief Compliance officer to look into any complaints against the platform.

    Appearing on behalf of the US company, senior advocate Sajan Poovayya shared a letter dated 28 May, claiming that the company has already made the requisite appointment. However, the claim was disputed by the petitioner who argued that Twitter’s GRO details could not be found when a complaint was sought to be made against certain objectionable tweets, The Indian Express reported. He also alleged that the microblogging platform has appointed a US resident as the Grievance Officer, contradictory to what the IT rules mandated.

    During the course of hearing, the court has also made it clear that “if the rules have not been stayed then they have to be complied with”.  It issued a notice to Twitter and gave the company three weeks to put the details on record. The case was adjourned for next hearing on July 6.

    The government had released a circular on 26 May enquiring about compliance with the said rules by all SSMIs under the Rules. As per the rules, each significant social media intermediary is required to appoint a resident grievance officer, chief compliance officer, a nodal contact person for 24×7 coordination with law enforcement agencies. He/she would be required to acknowledge the complaint within 24 hours and resolve it within 15 days from its receipt.

    All three should be resident Indians. They will also have to publish a monthly compliance report mentioning the details of complaints received and action taken. The intermediaries are also required to prominently publish on their website, app or both, the name of the grievance officer and his/her contact details as well as the mechanism by which a user or a victim may make a complaint.

  • Google, Facebook updating website as per new IT rules

    Google, Facebook updating website as per new IT rules

    New Delhi: Tech giants Google and Facebook have started updating their websites to reflect the appointment of the grievance officers as per the new IT rules that came into effect on 26 May.

    The companies have shared the details with the ministry of electronics and information and technology, reported PTI citing government sources. However, Twitter is yet to inform the Centre if it is complying with the norms. Google’s ‘Contact Us’ page shows details of Joe Grier as a contact person with an address from Mountain View, US. It also contains details on the grievance redressal mechanism for YouTube.

    The new IT (guidelines for intermediaries and digital media ethics code) rules, 2021 notified by the Centre on 25 February recommend a three-tier mechanism for regulation of all online media, which confers blocking powers to an inter-ministerial committee. As per the rules, each significant social media intermediary is required to appoint a chief compliance officer, a nodal contact person for 24×7 coordination with law enforcement agencies and a resident grievance officer. All three should be resident Indians. They will also have to publish a monthly compliance report mentioning the details of complaints received and action taken.

    The intermediaries are also required to prominently publish on their website, app or both, the name of the grievance officer and his/her contact details as well as the mechanism by which a user or a victim may make a complaint. The grievance officer would be required to acknowledge the complaint within 24 hours and resolve it within 15 days from its receipt.

    The platforms would also be required to ensure online safety of users, especially women and remove/disable access of any such morphed content, within 24 hours of the complaint, which can be filed either by the individual or by any other person on his/her behalf. The government has also asked the significant social media intermediaries providing services primarily in the nature of messaging “to enable identification of the first originator of the information.”

  • MeitY seeks compliance details of new IT rules from large social media platforms

    MeitY seeks compliance details of new IT rules from large social media platforms

    KOLKATA: Fears of social media platforms being switched off for not complying with the  new Indian  IT rules applicable to them from today (26 May) proved unfounded. However, they cannot rest easy as the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) has written to “Significant Social Media Intermediaries” (SSMI) asking for details of compliance.

    Under the new “the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Ethics Code) Rules, 2021,” SSMIs have been defined as social media companies with more than 50 lakh registered users. Hence, Twitter, Facebook, Facebook-owned WhatsApp and Instagram fall under the SSMIs category.

    The government has asked all SSMIs to provide name of app/ website/ service falling within the scope of significant social media intermediary, the details of chief compliance officer, nodal contact person, resident grievance officer and the contact details of all the officers. It has also sought details of compliance status of these rules.

    MeitY has asked for a prompt reply, “preferably today itself.”

    The new set of guidelines came against the backdrop of growing tensions between the government and the social media platforms. “The basic essence of these guidelines is a soft touch oversight mechanism, where we are insisting upon the platforms to develop a robust mechanism for timely redressal of grievances,” said union information technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

    According to the government data provided at that time, India has 53 crore WhatsApp users, 44.8 crores Youtube users, 41 users on Facebook, 21 crores users on Instagram and 1.75 crores on Twitter.

    As part of new IT rules, the government also asked the significant social media intermediaries providing services primarily in the nature of messaging “to enable identification of the first originator of the information.”

    This is something that has riled messaging service  WhatsApp which has filed a lawsuit in the Delhi High Court on Tuesday against the rules that will require it to “trace” the origin of messages sent on the service, which it says is a violation of privacy.

  • IT whiplash for social media for missed deadlines?

    IT whiplash for social media for missed deadlines?

    KOLKATA: Social media platforms in India, barring Koo, failed the compliance test of the Indian government to appoint grievance officers in India as the three month deadline expired today (May 26).

    Many international online platforms, including Twitter, were in regular conflict with the government amidst a heightened scrutiny and complaints over privacy in the last one year. In the latest such incident the Delhi Police raided the micro-blogging site’s Delhi office on Monday.

    Facebook too has had its fair share of controversies, and backlash from both opposition and ruling political parties in the country.

    Given this situation, the government issued new intermediary guidelines for social media platforms last February with a three-month deadline for compliance. It had directed intermediaries to appoint a grievance officer based out of India for timely redressal of complaints by users.

    As per the rules that came into force today, every social media intermediary was required to appoint a chief compliance officer and a nodal contact person for 24/7 coordination. They were also directed to publish monthly compliance reports with details of complaints received and commensurate action taken.

    The rules come into effect from today (26 May) but no other social media giant has complied with the new rules barring Koo. The question being asked by Indian consumers is whether these intermediary platforms will be banned now?

    As a first step, the government may serve show cause notices upon these platforms while asking about the reasons in delay (read non-compliance). The act and the rules empower the government to force stop a particular platform from operating access in India but, it is very unlikely that the government will invoke the same at the very first instance, according to a legal expert. “Most of the intermediaries are in the process (read various stages) of complying with the rules,” he added.

    “We aim to comply with the provisions of the IT rules and continue to discuss a few of the issues which need more engagement with the government. Pursuant to the IT Rules, we are working to implement operational processes and to improve efficiencies. Facebook remains committed to people’s ability to freely and safely express themselves on our platform,” a spokesperson for  Facebook said on Tuesday.

    Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have hitherto enjoyed the status of “intermediaries” under the IT Act, 2000, and were exempted from the liabilities that would otherwise accrue for publication of illegal content,  according to  partner at Bharucha & Partners Kaushik Moitra.

    As per the provisions of Section 79 of the IT Act, 2000, “an intermediary shall not be liable for any third-party information, data, or communication link made available or hosted by him.”

    Simply put, an intermediary is not liable for any content posted on its platform by a third-party if it is merely facilitating the transfer of information between third-parties, Moitra explained.

    Social media platforms are welcome to do business in India, but they are also required to practise “due diligence” under the new guidelines, failing which safe harbour provisions do not apply to them, union information technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had said at the time of introducing the rules. The rules in India go beyond a single content moderation body and have mandated a more complex institutional structure to regulate information flow through intermediaries, BMU Law school dean Nigam Nuggehalli pointed out.

    “It’s not merely the appointment of officers but the bureaucratic structure that comes with it-maintenance of records, hearings and government scrutiny- that must be reviewed carefully to ensure a balance is maintained between discouraging abuse and fake news on the one hand and innovation and creativity on the other,” he further added.

    The IT Rules, 2021 themselves do not set out any penalties for non-compliance of their stipulations. The provisions of the IT Act, 2000 are relevant, Moitra clarified.

    “The government may decide to (i) revoke the ‘intermediary’ status of the social media platforms, therefore taking away the immunity enjoyed by them; (ii) per the IT Act, 2000, the penalty for failure to furnish information, return, etc. as required under the Act or the Rules, ranges from Rs 5000 – Rs 10,000 for every day during which such failure continues; and (iii) otherwise for contravening any rules or regulations made under the IT Act, the social media platforms may be required to pay a compensation or penalty of INR 25,000.

    Additionally, the government may issue blocking orders against such non-compliant platforms under the IT Act,” he added.

  • Twitter Blue: A subscription-led future of Twitter?

    Twitter Blue: A subscription-led future of Twitter?

    KOLKATA: Is Twitter gearing up to launch a subscription service? Yes, say reports. The microblogging site is considering the launch of Twitter Blue priced at $2.99 per month, according to an independent researcher.

    One of its most interesting features is “undo tweet” which could allow users to prevent a tweet from being sent. Users can even customise time intervals for undoing tweets. The subscription model also includes planned features that would help users to save and organise tweets into collections.

    The company has been gradually taking multiple steps in recent times to explore other revenue streams as its advertising-led model is facing several new challenges. For example, Apple’s recently launched App Tracking Transparency for all iPhones with iOS 14 forcing developers to ask users for permission before they can track them. Twitter is now asking users to give consent for tracking to ‘keep ads relevant’.

    Earlier this month, it acquired Scroll, a subscription service that removes ads from participating news sites. It “will become a meaningful addition to our subscription work as we build and shape a future subscription service on Twitter,” Twitter product vice president Mike Park wrote in a blog post after the acquisition.

    Twitter reported $1.04 billion in revenue for the first quarter of 2021, up 28 per cent year-on-year. It also posted a profit of $68 million, turning back its business from $8.4 million in losses a year ago. Advertising revenue totalled $899 million, an increase of 32 per cent and total ad engagements increased 11 per cent year-over-year. However, monetizable daily active users (mDAU) grew about 20 per cent to 199 million, falling slightly below the analysts’ expectation of 200 million

  • Twitter launches state-specific Covid updates to aid patients, families

    Twitter launches state-specific Covid updates to aid patients, families

    New Delhi: Microblogging platform Twitter has launched new state-specific Covid-19 pages in the country that surface the latest tweets from people asking for SOS resources, as well as those offering help.

    The social media giant currently has seven state-specific pages available in the places hardest hit by the lethal virus — Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab. 

    “You will find bi-lingual tweets on these pages in both English and the official state language,” the company said in an update.

    Twitter said that it is partnering with news and media organisations as well as journalists across India to bring the latest, most credible news about Covid-19 to your timeline. It has also launched an interactive series called #AskTheDoctor in collaboration with the team of Editorji.

    National broadcaster Doordarshan also live-streams its daily show called #DoctorsSpeak on Twitter, where doctors answer frequently asked questions about Covid-19, including those via tweets using the hashtag.

    Developers in India are building creative tools and apps using the Twitter API to help people source information about medical services, oxygen, medicines, food, and more. 

    “We’ve been working closely with developers to ensure their services are able to have the widest impact, and reach the most people while operating in compliance with Twitter’s developer policies,” Twitter added.

    It went on to explain that these tools are built using the Twitter API and make use of Twitter’s Advanced Search functionality by providing easy-to-use filters that help people navigate tweets about Covid-19 in real-time by applying location filters or other search parameters.

  • Koo’s ‘Talk to Type’ eases the way for regional language creators

    Koo’s ‘Talk to Type’ eases the way for regional language creators

    KOLKATA: Twitter’s Indian alternative Koo has rolled out the Talk to Type feature so anybody who wants to share their thoughts can now do so easily without having to type. They can speak their thoughts out loud and the words will show up on the screen. This feature will be supported in all the Indian languages Koo is currently available in.

    The Talk to Type feature will enable regional language creation in the easiest way possible for millions of Koo users. Many users who are uncomfortable using the keyboard will be enabled and empowered with such a feature, the company believes.

    “This “Talk to Type” feature takes creation for regional language creators to the next level. Users don’t have to use the keyboard anymore and type out lengthy thoughts. India language speakers can now speak their mind and the words will show up on the screen magically. For those who found it difficult to type in local languages, this feature removes all that pain. We will keep adding value to Indians by enabling the easiest localised forms of expression and present their thoughts to India in a seamless way,” Koo co-founder Aprameya Radhakrishna said.

    Co-founder Mayank Bidawatka claimed that Koo is the first social platform in the world to launch such a feature. “We are very excited to launch the “Talk to Type” feature that enables people to create without typing. All they have to do is hit a button and speak into their phone and the words will magically show up on the screen. It can’t get easier than this! You won’t find this on Facebook, Twitter or any other global platform.”

    Koo was founded in March 2020 as a micro-blogging platform in Indian languages. Available in multiple Indian languages, people from across different regions in India can express themselves in their mother tongue.