You may not know or remember, but in February this year, the government India introduced a new rule Applicable to social networks – which came into force at the end of last May. The determination came weeks after the country pressed for the withdrawal of accounts deemed “incendiary” on Twitter.
hey Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, or MeitY) requires platforms to create three new regions, the so-called:
- a “Compliance Officer” who must ensure compliance with local laws;
- a “grievance officer” who handles complaints from Indian users about social media;
- A “contact person” is available to Indian officials 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
In addition, companies are also required to publish a monthly report detailing the number of complaints they have received and the action they have taken.
Interestingly, the group of social networks that must be subject to the rules was the network iMessage From Apple… until yesterday.
Now, According to business standard, MeitY withdrew a letter sent to Apple seeking regulatory compliance. Sources said the move is a response to Apple’s successful argument that its messaging app is not, in fact, a social network.
Apple Messaging is not an available application that anyone can download. This is a feature similar to SMS on phones and hence MeitY withdrew a letter it sent to Apple for compliance.
call Information Technology Rules (Intermediate Guidelines and Digital Media Code of Conduct) 2021 applies to social networks that have more than 5 million users in India. still according to business standardThere are fewer users of messaging – and that would be another reason for MeitY to drop the requirement.
At least now Apple will be able to breathe more easily…
Via AppleInsider
