Google has expressed its unwillingness in becoming a part of a self-regulatory body that will watch over the social media sector in India and hear complaints from users, according to sources who spoke to Reuters. Facebook and Twitter have both agreed to be a part of such a system.

In June, earlier this year, the Indian government was ready to set up a body that would address user complaints. At the same time, it was open to let social media companies form their own self-regulatory authority. 

It comes as no surprise that Facebook and Twitter would be willing to self-regulate in order to avoid government oversight. Back in the United States, Meta is joining the likes of Amazon as the Federal Trade Commission begins investigating the two companies. The Department of Justice is likely going to be taking Google to court as early as next month.

An executive from Google’s parent company Alphabet, who was present at the meeting, was unconvinced of the merits of being part of a self-regulatory body, according to the Reuters report. According to the executive, external reviews might force the company to reinstate content that violate its policies. 

According to the initial draft of the proposal, the self-regulatory body would have a total of seven people on the panel. Six  individuals, some of whom would be senior executives from social media companies and one retired judge or person who carries experience in the tech industry. 

Social media regulation in India has long been a point of contention between the government and tech companies. Twitter has been fighting India’s new IT laws. In the past few years, the company has repeatedly been at loggeheads with the government over take down requests.

This year, the microblogging site filed a lawsuit in Bengaluru alleging that the take-down requests it had received concerning tweets made by politicians would be tantamount to violating the right to free speech.