Centre vs Twitter: A timeline of major events

The months-long tussle between popular microblogging platform Twitter and the Centre has reached a boiling point as the website’s defiance of some of the Indian government’s directives has robbed it of legal protection in the country.

The impasse between the Centre and the social media company has become more aggressive in recent weeks as Twitter has not yet complied with the new IT rules drawn up by the government.

Here is a timeline of all that has transpired between Twitter and the Indian government.

February: Twitter has been in the crosshairs of the Indian government ever since the farmers’ protest earlier this year, during which the Centre took exception with the delay on the company’s part in taking down certain accounts and hashtags involved in the protests flagged by the government.

February 25: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued new guidelines for social media companies, streaming platforms and digital publications that would make them more accountable for the content they host, with a three-month deadline to comply.

May 20: Twitter tagged Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Sambit Patra’s tweet that alleged the Congress party had created a “toolkit” to defame the Narendra Modi government as “manipulated media”.

The move sparked uproar from BJP members and the MeitY ordered that the tag be taken down pending investigation by law enforcement.

Twitter refused to take down the tag, which had been pinned to the post based on its safety guidelines.

May 24: The Union-controlled Delhi police came knocking at Twitter’s headquarters to serve a notice on the social media giant, seeking explanation of the grounds on which the post was tagged as manipulated.

May 26: The new IT rules come into force, but Twitter does not comply with the rules immediately.

May 27: Twitter expressed its intention to comply with the privacy rules, but said it would also uphold freedom of expression and privacy under the law. The company also voiced its concern for the safety of its employees in India after the Delhi police’s visit.

May 31: The Delhi High Court said Twitter must comply with the new rules if the order had not been stayed. Twitter had said it had already appointed a resident grievance officer and was in the process of compliance.

June 2: The government said it was still not clear if Twitter had appointed a compliance officer and a nodal officer as per the new rules.

June 5: The Centre issued a final notice to Twitter to comply with the IT rules, failing which it would be stripped of legal immunity as an intermediary.

June 7: Twitter requested more time from the government to comply with the new guidelines due to the Covid-19 situation in the country.

June 15: Twitter appoints a chief compliance officer in keeping with the new rules.

June 16: The social media platform had reportedly been stripped of its immunity as an intermediary, sources told PTI, as the officers appointed by the company were allegedly not employees of the company as mandated by the new rules.

June 17: A complaint was registered with the Delhi police against Twitter India Managing Director Manish Maheshwari, actor Swara Bhaskar and others in connection with posts on the platform linked to the attack on Abdul Samad Saifi earlier in the month.

June 18: A parliamentary committee chaired by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor told Twitter India officials that the company must comply with Indian law.