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MeitY seeks compliance details of new IT rules from large social media platforms
KOLKATA: Fears of social media platforms being switched off for not complying with the new Indian IT rules applicable to them from today (26 May) proved unfounded. However, they cannot rest easy as the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) has written to “Significant Social Media Intermediaries” (SSMI) asking for details of compliance.
Under the new “the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Ethics Code) Rules, 2021,” SSMIs have been defined as social media companies with more than 50 lakh registered users. Hence, Twitter, Facebook, Facebook-owned WhatsApp and Instagram fall under the SSMIs category.
The government has asked all SSMIs to provide name of app/ website/ service falling within the scope of significant social media intermediary, the details of chief compliance officer, nodal contact person, resident grievance officer and the contact details of all the officers. It has also sought details of compliance status of these rules.
MeitY has asked for a prompt reply, “preferably today itself.”
The new set of guidelines came against the backdrop of growing tensions between the government and the social media platforms. “The basic essence of these guidelines is a soft touch oversight mechanism, where we are insisting upon the platforms to develop a robust mechanism for timely redressal of grievances,” said union information technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.
According to the government data provided at that time, India has 53 crore WhatsApp users, 44.8 crores Youtube users, 41 users on Facebook, 21 crores users on Instagram and 1.75 crores on Twitter.
As part of new IT rules, the government also asked the significant social media intermediaries providing services primarily in the nature of messaging “to enable identification of the first originator of the information.”
This is something that has riled messaging service WhatsApp which has filed a lawsuit in the Delhi High Court on Tuesday against the rules that will require it to “trace” the origin of messages sent on the service, which it says is a violation of privacy.
iWorld
Snapchat parent Snap cuts 16 per cent of workforce in AI-driven restructuring
The Snapchat parent is axing around 1,000 jobs and closing 300 open roles to save $500m, as artificial intelligence makes smaller teams the new normal
CALIFORNIA: Snap is snapping. The Snapchat parent has confirmed plans to cut around 1,000 employees, roughly 16 per cent of its full-time workforce, as it bets that artificial intelligence can do what headcount once required. Shares jumped more than 10 per cent in premarket trading on the news, a brisk vote of confidence from a market that has watched the stock shed about 31 per cent this year.
The restructuring, which also closes more than 300 open roles, follows pressure from activist investor Irenic Capital Management, which holds an economic interest of about 2.5 per cent in the company and has been loudly pushing Snap to tighten its portfolio and lift performance. The firm got what it asked for, and then some.
Chief executive Evan Spiegel told employees the cuts would reduce annualised expenses by more than $500m by the second half of the year. The company expects to incur charges of between $95m and $130m related to the layoffs, mostly severance, with the bulk landing in the second quarter. Staff in Snap’s North America team were asked to work from home on the day of the announcement.
The financial backdrop is not without bright spots. Snap expects first-quarter revenue to rise around 12 per cent to approximately $1.53 billion, broadly in line with analyst estimates. Adjusted core profit for the January to March quarter is forecast at about $233m, comfortably ahead of Wall Street’s expectation of $186.8m.
The harder question surrounds Specs, Snap’s augmented reality smart glasses subsidiary, which Irenic has urged the company to spin off or shut down entirely. The unit has absorbed more than $3.5 billion in investment and burns through approximately $500m in cash annually. Snap is pressing ahead regardless, with a consumer product expected later this year, even as Meta leads the market in the segment.
Spiegel is betting that leaner teams, smarter machines and a consumer AR play can restore Snap’s credibility with investors who have run out of patience. The redundancy notices have gone out. The harder restructuring, the one that requires a hit product rather than a headcount reduction, is still very much pending.
