Govt notifies 5-mn-user threshold for significant social media intermediary

Facebook and Twitter said they are studying the rules; Experts question compliance with PDP Bill

The government on Friday specified 5 million registered users in India as the threshold for a social media intermediary to be considered a significant social media intermediary as mentioned in the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021. 

The rules make a distinction between social media intermediaries and significant social media intermediaries, who have a large number of users. The government had said on Thursday, while notifying the Rules, that it will specify the threshold of the user base that will distinguish between the two. 

Large social media firms including Facebook and Twitter said they are