The new Rules are now the law of the land and compliance therewith is absolutely necessary if Twitter wants to regain protection afforded under Section 79 of the IT Act. With the appointment of the new Resident Grievance Officer, there should not be any problem in getting back the protection, but it will be for the court to decide. The government does not have a role to play any more now that the matter is sub judice. It is crucial to note that while the IT Rules specify how protection under Section 79 of the IT Act is withdrawn, they are silent on how the same can be restored. What continues to remain a grey area in the law is whether prospective compliance will absolve Twitter of liability under actions already initiated against it from the time when the said protection had been withdrawn.
The road ahead for all intermediaries is compliance. There is no way one can opt out of it, especially with the Government pursuing it so vigorously. Twitter's final act of compliance should assuage the tensions it had been having with the Government.
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