Twitter India Gets Grievance Redressal Officer, Info Made Public

The person appointed is Dharmendra Chatur, who is a partner designate of a law firm representing Twitter at the HC.

New IT rules effecting Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and other social media giants came into effect from 26 May.

(Photo: The Quint)

Microblogging platform Twitter on Wednesday, 2 June, appointed an interim grievance redressal officer, in compliance with the new IT rules. The contact information of the officer has been made public on Twitter's help center.

It is not yet clear whether the other positions – a compliance officer and a nodal officer – mandated by the Centre's rules have been filled.

The person appointed is Dharmendra Chatur, who is reported to be a partner designate at a law firm representing Twitter at the Delhi High Court.

On Monday, 31 May, the Delhi High Court had issued a notice in a plea seeking action against Twitter owing to its alleged non-compliance with the new IT Rules for digital media. The court said that the social media platform must comply with the rules if they have not been stayed.

However, senior advocate Sajan Poovayya, appearing for Twitter Inc, stated in court that it has already appointed a Resident Grievance Officer on Friday, 28 May.

The Union government contested this claim. Subsequently, the court gave Twitter three weeks to file a response and posted the matter for 6 July.

A Twitter spokesperson in a statement said, “As we have stated earlier, Twitter strives to comply with applicable laws in India. We continue to be strictly guided by principles of transparency, a commitment to empowering every voice on the service, and protecting freedom of expression and privacy under the Indian law.”