Twitter appoints interim chief compliance officer

NEW DELHI: Twitter on Tuesday said it has appointed an interim chief compliance officer and the details of the official will be shared directly with the IT ministry soon.

The move came after the government gave one last chance to Twitter to comply with the new IT rules, as the platform had not made immediate appointments of key personnel, mandated under the new guidelines that came into effect on May 26.

Following this, the Us-based company had assured the Indian government last week that it is in advanced stages of finalising the appointment of chief compliance officer, and that it would submit additional details within a week.

A Twitter spokesperson on Tuesday said the company continues to make every effort to comply with the new guidelines, and is keeping the IT ministry apprised of progress at every step of the process. An interim chief compliance officer has been retained and details will be shared with the Ministry directly soon, the spokesperson added.

Twitter has had several faceoffs with the Indian government over the past months, including during the farmers’ protest and later when it tagged political posts of several leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party as “manipulated media”, triggering a sharp rebuke from the Centre.

The last flashpoint was the delay in complying with the IT rules that mandate large digital platforms to undertake greater due diligence as well as appoint a grievance officer, a nodal officer and a chief compliance officer. These personnel have to be residents in India.