Three months ago, in response to a Twitter dare, the Central Government quickly issued a new set of IT rules.

These rules are broad, granting the government enormous power over any company dealing in information and content within India. Almost all internet companies, whether social media networks, messaging services, news organizations, or streaming services like Netflix, must comply with the new rules. The deadline for doing so, that is, complying with the new rules, is tonight. In other words, one more day means a major headache for companies such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

But first, the big question: Will Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp be banned in India starting tomorrow, May 26? It's unlikely.

However, if they do not follow the new rules, they will always face significant government action.

To understand everything, let's take a quick look at what the government is requesting.

The government is attempting to impose a number of new conditions and regulatory requirements on social media companies. However, a few noteworthy examples are:

1- Big tech companies, dubbed "significant social media" by the government, must have a chief compliance officer in India who can respond to government demands and needs whenever they arise. For example, if the government requests data from Twitter about User A and the request is legally valid, this compliance officer will be in charge of gathering this information.

2- The tech companies have also been asked to hire a nodal officer who will coordinate with law enforcement agencies 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whenever the government requires it.

3- The social media companies have been asked to hire a grievance redressal officer, to whom social media users can direct their grievances if they have any.

4- Finally, companies such as WhatsApp have been asked to ensure that messages can be traced back to the original sender. This effectively means breaking or circumventing message end-to-end encryption. For a service like WhatsApp, complying with such a request is extremely difficult, if not outright impossible.

There are additional rules, but the majority of them involve technological and policy changes that tech companies have been instructed to implement. The four requirements listed above, however, are more important.

So the big question is, what happens next? Will Netflix be prohibited in India? Will the government request that WhatsApp leave the country and block the app in India? Will Twitter face legal repercussions?

Most major technology companies have yet to comply with the new It rules. Netflix, on the other hand, has done it. Other streaming services have followed suit. According to Facebook, which also owns WhatsApp and Instagram, “we aim to comply with the provisions of the IT rules and continue to discuss a few of the issues that require more engagement with the government.”

But what if they refuse or are unable to comply? The government hasn't said much, other than a vague statement in its rules. It reads as follows:

“Where an intermediary fails to comply with these rules, the provisions of sub-section (1) of Section 79 of the Act shall not apply to such intermediary, and such intermediary shall be liable for punishment under any law in force at the time, including the provisions of the Act and the Indian Penal Code.”

But what if they refuse or are unable to comply? The government hasn't said much, other than a vague statement in its rules. It reads as follows:

“Where an intermediary fails to comply with these rules, the provisions of sub-section (1) of Section 79 of the Act shall not apply to such intermediary, and such intermediary shall be liable for punishment under any law in force at the time, including the provisions of the Act and the Indian Penal Code.”

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