We Follow Our Own Policies, Twitter India Tells Parliamentary Panel

Pic courtesy BBC

New Delhi: Twitter, in the midst of a bitter feud with the Central government over compliance of IT rules in India, showed defiance while facing a Parliamentary panel on Friday.

According to ANI, when asked if it follows law of the land, a representative of the microblogging platform said, “We follow our own policies.”

The Standing Committee on Information Technology, led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, had summoned representatives of Twitter India and officials of Union Information Technology Ministry to examine the issue of safeguarding rights of Indian citizens and preventing misuse of online platforms.

Also Read: Final Notice: Centre Asks Twitter To Comply With IT Rules Or Face Unintended Consequences

Twitter India, represented at the meeting by its public policy manager Shagufta Kamran and legal counsel Ayushi Kapoor, was asked why it shouldn’t be fined for violating Indian laws, pointing out that Twitter had been fined earlier in Ireland.

Twitter replied that it’s following rules and had appointed an interim chief compliance officer, ANI quoted sources as saying.

Standing committee members then reportedly asked Twitter representatives to submit in writing: “How are you placed in Twitter India and how much executive authority you have in terms of taking important policy decisions.”

Also Read: After Losing Legal Shield, Twitter Charged With ‘Provoking Communal Sentiments’