Twitter may ‘lose’ safe harbour protection as government says it ‘failed’ to fill key positions

Microblogging platform Twitter is likely to lose its status as a social media intermediary and, in turn, the legal protection accorded to it under Section 79 of the Information Technology (IT) Act, sources in the know of the development told The Indian Express.

“The government believes that whoever has not yet complied with the guidelines has lost the intermediary status. For Twitter now, any and all penal action that is applicable under the Indian Penal Code will be applicable,” a source close to the development said.

Section 79 says any intermediary shall not be held legally or otherwise liable for any third party information, data, or communication link made available or hosted on its platform.