Govt announces new social media rules

  • The Narendra Modi government unveiled its plan to enact greater oversight over social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter and also bring digital media and streaming platforms into a stricter regulatory net. 
  • The rules are called the ‘Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021′.
  • They will supersede some parts of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules, 2011.
  • Prasad added that the rules will come into effect the day they are notified for most applicable entities.
  • However, an extra three-month window would be given to ‘significant social media intermediaries’.

PROVISIONS

  • The new rules will require big social media companies to take down unlawful content within a specific time-frame of being served either a court order or notice by an appropriate government agency. 
  • The rules also carve out a separate category for sexual content – under which an intermediary shall within 24 hours remove the offending content.
  • The new changes to the IT intermediary rules also include a ‘Code of Ethics and Procedure and Safeguards in Relation to Digital/Online Media’. 
  • The rules under this code will apply to everyone from online news and digital media entities to OTT platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime.
ORIGINATOR
  • The rules also makes it mandatory for a ‘significant social media intermediary’ that provides services primarily in the nature of messaging (such as WhatsApp), to enable the identification of the “first originator” of the information.
  • It is required only for the purposes of prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution or punishment of an offence related to Sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, or public order or of incitement to an offence relating to the above or in relation with rape, sexually explicit material or child sexual abuse material punishable with imprisonment for a term of not less than five years
  • A category of company which have a certain number of users – will be required to appoint three employees, all of whom must be a resident of India, who will deal with the grievance redressal system.
THREE-TIER STRUCTURE 

  • To ensure adherence to the ‘Code of Ethics’, the government envisages the establishment of a three-tier structure under which user grievances can be addressed. 
  • At the first level will be self regulation by an applicable entity, Which needs to appoint a grievance redressal officer based in India who take a decision on every complaint registered.
  • The second will be self-regulation by the self-regulating bodies of the applicable entities.
  • The final stage will be an oversight mechanism by the central government.
  • At the government level, an inter-departmental government committee established by the I&B ministry will hear grievances arising out of the decision of the selfregulating body and take appropriate action.

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