Elon Musk’s announcement that any Twitter user can get a ‘blue tick’ ties up with India’s plans to enable all users to get voluntarily verified on social platforms. However, while Musk has specified a $8 monthly price tag, India’s rules do not envision any fee being charged for the same.
“Under the new IT Rules notified last year, we want social media intermediaries to verify every person who wants to voluntarily apply for it. This would reduce anonymity on the social media platform. However, the rules do not refer to any fee or subscription being charged for it. Other social media platforms (like Facebook, Instagram or Koo) are not charging for verifying users," a government official told News18.
The official said the government may take a call if users in India — under the IT Rules — challenge the $8 fee but, at present, only a close eye is being kept on the changes at Twitter in terms of the user interface. Musk has said the fee could be “price adjusted by country proportionate to the purchasing power parity".
Another government official, however, said what Twitter charges for verification is “between the company and the user" and the government does not need to get involved.
What Do IT Rules Say?
Section 4 (7) of Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, says: “The significant social media intermediary shall enable users who register for their services from India, or use their services in India, to voluntarily verify their accounts by using any appropriate mechanism, including the active Indian mobile number of such users, and where any user voluntarily verifies their account, such user shall be provided with a demonstrable and visible mark of verification, which shall be visible to all users of the service."
The rules clearly say a social media intermediary “shall provide" a verified tag to a user who voluntarily verified his or her account using an appropriate mechanism like an active mobile number. There is no clarity if the intermediary can charge for the service as a one-time fee or a recurring charge.
The rules also say the information received for the purpose of verification shall not be used for any other purpose unless users expressly consent to such use.
Other Platforms Don’t Charge
Platforms like Instagram and Facebook do not charge for verification, while Koo had launched a self-verification process in line with the new IT rules.
On November 2, Mayank Bidawatka, co-Founder of Koo — the indigenous rival of Twitter — told News18: “Koo had launched a self-verification process, granting a ’green tick’ to empower every user on Koo to be recognised as a genuine voice. Additionally, the ‘yellow tick’ is given to eminent personalities so that users can find the right eminent personality. All this is done without any charge."
He also tweeted saying: “All the lovely, verified handles here on Twitter, you are welcome to join @kooindia and ping me here on comments for a ‘FREE’ instant verified tick! Don’t pay Rs 650 per month".
Read all the Latest India News here
Comments
0 comment