Koo is a homegrown microblogging platform that is positioned as an alternative to Twitter and was also the first social media intermediary to say that it would comply with the new IT rules.
Social media website Koo released its first compliance report on Thursday as mandated by the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. The new IT Rules, which came into effect from May 26, require Significant Social Media Intermediaries (SSMIs) to release monthly compliance reports on the details of complaints received, action taken thereon, and the number of links or parts of information removed.
Number of posts taken down
The report notes two types of Koos (the term for posts on the platform) – those posts reported by its users and those that have been proactively highlighted by the platform itself.
Out of a total of 5,502 posts that were reported by the user community, 1,253 posts were removed and the rest had some type of action taken against them. Additionally, 54,235 posts were highlighted by proactive monitoring, out of which 1,996 posts were removed while the other 52,239 posts had some type of action taken against them.
According to Koo’s report, the actions it takes include blurring, ignoring, overlay, issuing a warning, etc. MediaNama has reached out to Koo for clarification on what these actions entail and the copy will be updated when we receive a response.
Other compliance reports
Koo became the second social media intermediary to release its compliance report after Google published it on Wednesday. Facebook is expected to release an interim report on July 2 and Twitter has been non-committal about it.
The IT Rules also require Significant Social Media Intermediaries (who have more than 5 million users) to appoint a —
- Nodal Contact Person
- Grievance Redressal Officer
- Chief Compliance Officer
So far, Twitter has not permanently appointed anyone to these positions as its interim grievance redressal officer Dharmendra Chatur resigned on July 29, a Times of India report said. Interestingly, Twitter’s Grievance Officer – India page now shows that the social media company has re-appointed San Franciso-based Jeremy Kessel as the GRO in India. However, this is still not in compliance with the IT Rules 2021
Meanwhile, the Government of Nigeria set up an official account on the made-in-India microblogging platform just days after Nigeria suspended the services of Twitter in the country.
On June 18, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information and Technology had asked Twitter to appear before them on the subject of ‘safeguarding citizen rights and misuse of social media/news platforms’. The committee also summoned Facebook India and Google India to appear before them on the same subject on June 29.
Also Read
- Government Of Nigeria Sets Up Official Account On Koo, Days After It Suspends Twitter In The Country
- Home-Grown Koo Raises $30 Million, Valuation Pegged At $150 Million
- Interview: Koo Co-Founder Mayank Bidwatka On Content Moderation, Comparison With Parler, And Focus On Mobile Experience
