The Union government on Tuesday filed an application in the Supreme Court seeking transfer to the top court of all the petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, filed in high courts across the country.
In its transfer petition in the Supreme Court, the Centre said petitions against the IT Rules have been moved in high courts like Delhi, Bombay, Madras and Kerala, adding that only the apex court should adjudicate the issue. In the Madras high court, for example, petitions have been filed by the Digital News Publishers Association (DNP), comprising 13 media outlets, along with senior journalist Mukund Padmanabhan seeking that the court declare that the rules are in violation of fundamental rights granted by the Constitution.
Also Read: Twitter has not complied with IT rules as of July 1, Govt tells HC
The IT rules were notified on February 5 and social media platforms, online publishers, as well over the top (OTT) platforms were given three months, or till May 25, to comply with various norms under the rules. These include a quicker takedown of contentious content, appointing a local grievance officer to deal with content flagged by authorities etc.
The government is engaged in a faceoff with Twitter, which, it alleges, has failed to comply with the IT Rules, filing an affidavit in the Delhi high court on July 5 in this regard. "Despite three months being granted to all the significant social media intermediaries, Twitter has failed to fully comply," the Centre mentioned in the affidavit.
{{/usCountry}}The government is engaged in a faceoff with Twitter, which, it alleges, has failed to comply with the IT Rules, filing an affidavit in the Delhi high court on July 5 in this regard. "Despite three months being granted to all the significant social media intermediaries, Twitter has failed to fully comply," the Centre mentioned in the affidavit.
{{/usCountry}}Also Read: Delhi HC slams Twitter over non compliance of IT rules
In a hearing on Tuesday, the Delhi high court took Twitter to task for not appointing a resident grievance officer, directing it to inform the court in two days regarding its compliance with the requirements.
(with PTI inputs)