The Power Politics Behind Twitter versus Government of India The new IT Rules hand the Indian state a vital legal weapon in the gradually escalating battle with Big Tech companies. Illustration: The Wire Tech7 hours ago Hours before May 26, 2021, the day on which the new Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 came into force, there was a slew of media reports and posts on social networking sites and messaging services that platforms such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook would be banned the next day. Aside from some Indian platforms like Koo, most large social networking sites had not yet complied with the requirements under the IT Rules, 2021. Days after May 26, some platforms have publicly announced that they are taking steps to comply with the new rules, while at least one platform has challenged the constitutional validity of some provisions of the IT Rules, 2021.