The government given last chance to Twitter or face the "consequences"

The new IT rules brought very challenges to the social media players, who were collecting data from the left right and center. A legal challenge from Facebook-owned WhatsApp which said the government was exceeding its legal powers by enacting rules that will force the messaging app to break end-to-end message encryption.

Twitter has been given a final chance to appoint India-based officers following the country's new rules for social media companies, failing which it will face "consequences",

"Twitter Inc. is hereby given one last notice to immediately comply with the Rules, failing which the exemption from liability available under Section 79 of the IT Act, 2000 shall stand withdrawn and Twitter shall be liable for consequences as per the IT Act and other penal laws of India," the government said.

The move came on a day when a new flashpoint emerged in the face-off between Twitter and the government following the brief removal of the "blue tick" verification badge from the personal account of Vice President Venkaiah Naidu since it had not been logged into for six months.

Described as "outrageous" by government sources, it signalled a further deterioration of ties between Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration and Twitter who have clashed over a range of issues including its stand on the new rules for social platforms and the discrediting of certain BJP leaders' tweets.

The government's threat about revoking Twitter's indemnity under Section 79 of the IT Act means that the platform could be held responsible for content posted by users.

Currently, Twitter and other social media platforms, as intermediaries, enjoy the protection that holds users responsible for posts deemed illegal.