With an aim to protect consumers and encourage a spirit of common brotherhood, the Government of India recently released the new “IT (Guidelines for Intermediaries) Rules, 2021”.
The Digital India programme has now become a movement which is empowering common Indians with the power of technology. The extensive spread of mobile phones, Internet etc. has also enabled many social media platforms to expand their footprints in India.
Recently the centre introduced the ‘Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) new IT Rules 2021’ to regulate all types of digital platforms.
For framing the new rules, the government has referred to the 2018 Prajjawala case. Where the Supreme Court had observed that the Government of India may frame necessary guidelines to eliminate child pornography, rape and gangrape imageries, videos and sites in content hosting platforms and other applications.
The new rules force digital news publishers and video streaming services to adhere to a three-tier structure of regulation. It will have a government committee at its apex.
It is feared that the new rules will have implications for freedom of expression and the right to information.
There have been repeated instances of hate speech, fake news and violation of privacy rights on digital media platforms. Moreover, a number of these online intermediaries have failed to comply with Indian laws and the orders issued by the government.
The rules stress upon the need for these social media platforms to follow Indian laws in order to ensure that young users do not face problems on digital mediums, like Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, Twitter or Instagram.
The rules emphasize the need for these social media intermediaries and online content providers, whether for entertainment or informative purposes, to strictly comply with the Constitution and domestic laws of India.
It extends its approach to instill a sense of accountability against misuse and abuse by social media users and is the first of its kind to bring social media use under the regulatory framework of the Information Technology Act.
There are many laws to combat unlawful content that are already in place. The recent rules envisage bringing their uniform application.
It lays a special emphasis on the protection of women against the progression of sexual offenses on social media. It also envisages checking the proliferation of fake news and hate speech.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recently released the new regulations for the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in India.
TRAI approved a new set of rules for the current year. The new set of rules have increased the censorship of Internet content. Moreover, it mandates compliance with government demands regarding user data collection and policing of online services in India.
The new rules issued under the Information Technology Act appears to be unconstitutional. Instead of taking a legislative route, it was done by expanding the purview of the IT Act, 2000.
The ability to frame subordinate legislation is by its nature a limited, constrained power. An executive cannot use its rule-making power to issue primary legislation by itself.
The new rules will also regulate digital news media, it is a prime source of news. Any government involvement could have a chilling effect on their free speech and conversations.
Aaccording to the new rules, any person having a grievance regarding the content in relation to the Code of Ethics can file his grievance.
The new rules have increased the compliance burden for social media platforms. For instance, Big platforms such as WhatsApp will have to appoint chief compliance officers. He/she will ensure the rules and the laws are followed. A nodal officer will also need to be appointed, for coordinating with the law enforcement agencies.
The new rules mandate the retention of user data by intermediaries for use by government agencies. The rules require messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Signal to trace the origin of the problematic messages based on a judicial order.
The new rules provide for the registration of digital news sites with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Further, OTT platforms are required to agree to a government-supervised “self-regulatory system”.
