Facebook not complying with Indian laws: TN govt to SC

NEW DELHI: The Tamil Nadu government claimed in the Supreme Court on Thursday that Facebook Inc and other social media companies are not complying with Indian laws, resulting in “increased lawlessness” and difficulties in “detecting crimes”. It sought modification of the August 20 order of the apex court directing the Madras High Court to continue hearing of the pleas for linkage of social media profiles with biometric ID Aadhaar but restrained it from passing any effective orders.
The high court is at the advanced stage but due to the apex court’s August 20 order, the high court had deferred the hearings on those petitions, the state government said.
“In the absence of expeditious disposal of the instant matter, foreign companies such as the petitioner (Facebook Inc) would continue to operate in India without complying with or submitting to Indian law, the effect of which as evident is increased lawlessness, greater difficulty in preventing and detecting crimes and overall breakdown of law and order,” the Tamil Nadu government said in its reply.