The confrontation between Twitter and the Narendra Modi government is set to intensify with the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) on Saturday giving the social media platform “one last chance to immediately” comply with the new IT rules. It warned that failure to adhere to the norms will lead to the platform losing the intermediary exemption from liability under the IT Act.

The ministry said Twitter’s refusal to comply with the rules demonstrated the microblogging site’s “lack of commitment and efforts towards providing a safe experience for the people of India on its platform”.

“Despite being operational in India for more than a decade, Twitter Inc has doggedly refused to create a mechanism that will enable the people of India to resolve their issues on the platform in a timely and transparent manner and through fair processes, by India-based, clearly identified resources,” the IT ministry said.

The ministry said though with effect from May 26, 2021, “consequences follow” given Twitter’s non-compliance with the rules “however, as a gesture of goodwill, Twitter Inc is hereby given one last notice to immediately comply, failing which ... Twitter shall be liable for consequences under the IT Act and other penal laws of India”.

The notice, however, did not mention a specific date to comply with the rules.

Twitter declined to comment on the latest notice by the government.

The ministry also noted that the resident grievance officer and the nodal contact person nominated by the company was not an employee of Twitter Inc in India as prescribed in the rules, and added that the office address of Twitter Inc as mentioned by the company “is that of a law firm in India, which is not as per the rules”.

The new IT rules, which were announced on February 25, came into effect on May 26. Every social media intermediary, including Twitter, was given three months to comply.

Under the new digital rules, social media companies such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter have been asked to identify within 36 hours the originator of a flagged message as well as to conduct additional due diligence, including the appointment of a chief compliance officer, nodal contact person and resident grievance officer.

Twitter has not complied with the rules that stipulate the appointment of a resident grievance officer. The platform had earlier said it was committed to India as a vital market, but criticised the new IT rules and regulations that it said, “inhibit free, open public conversation”.

In case the government revokes Twitter’s indemnity under Section 79 of the IT Act, the microblogging site could be held responsible for content posted by users on its platform. At present, Twitter and other social media platforms, as intermediaries, enjoy the protection that holds users responsible for posts deemed illegal.

Twitter has been in the Centre’s line of fire over content takedown requests for tweets from various user accounts criticising the government on multiple occasions, including the farmer protests in February.