India imposes new rules on social media platforms operating in the country

India recently imposed strict guidelines on Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms operating in the company. The rules were formed because India claims Twitter had failed to ban accounts that spoke against the Indian government. 

India's new guidelines demand that each tech company have a "compliance officer" that will make sure the company adheres to the law,  a "grievance officer" who will note complaints from Indian users, and a "contact person" who would be able to be reached by Indian law enforcement 24/7. 

The Indian government also gave a deadline for the implementation of the guidelines 

India ruled that smaller social networks must implement the new rules immediately. The Indian government gave larger social media companies three months to implement the rules. 

As part of the guidelines, social media companies will have to be accountable to the government every month. They will also be required to ban certain types of content and posts that have "full or partial nudity," a "sexual act" or "impersonation including morphed images."

The guidelines are a result of Twitter refusing to block certain accounts that the Indian government described as "Incendiary". 

India's new rule is part of a larger move to limit tech companies 

India is part of a growing movement by governments worldwide to limit the powers of big tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter.  

In a press statement, Ravi Shankar Prasad, an Indian minister said social media companies are welcome in India because of their positive impact, but they need to be reined in. He added that the Indian government is welcome to critique, but the tech companies are failing to do their part in regulating the information on their platform.  

A representative of Facebook said the company will go through the new rules, as the company is dedicated to ensuring online user safety on its platform. Twitter and Google are yet to release a statement.