Twitter officials depose before Parliamentary Panel, told to 'abide by the law'

Twitter India officials faced some tough questions on Friday as they deposed before a parliamentary panel on IT led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. Apart from several other issues, in a nearly 95-minute deposition, executives of the social media giant were asked why Twitter had not appointed a Chief Compliance Officer in India.

Reports citing sources said, Twitter was sternly warned that 'Indian laws are supreme and the company has to abide by them'. Members of the govt panel also warned that Twitter may face hefty fines if violations continue. Twitter also faced questions on its policy of acting on controversial content.

Top officials of Twitter were summoned at a time when the government has clashed with the social media giant over a range of issues including its stand on the new IT rules.

Twitter also faces charges, including inciting communal hate, over posts on an assault on a Muslim man in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad on June 5. On Wednesday, Twitter, several journalists and Congress leaders were named in an FIR in Ghaziabad over "provoking communal sentiments" with posts sharing the elderly man's allegations.

Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said Twitter was given "multiple opportunities to comply" but it chose the path of "deliberate defiance".