Key Takeaways
Definition of “social media intermediaries” too broad. Exceptions for some use cases would have made great sense.
Need clarity on the 5 million threshold. How do significant social media intermediaries define “5 million users” daily or monthly active users, or registered users and so on?
5 million number is very low in India
Need consultations for an “intelligent definition” for intermediaries
Personal liability of chief compliance officer a might be too much risk for one person
Timelines for grievance redressal might be too onerous on companies
Rules might achieve opposite of curtailing platform power
Compliance burden on smaller platforms high
The Information Technology (Guidelines For Intermediaries And Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 notified earlier this year change the way the internet is governed in India. The Rules prescribe several new and onerous requirements for companies. For the first time ever, social media intermediaries have
#NAMA: Will IT Rules 2021 pass the muster of legal challenges? medianama.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from medianama.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Rakesh Maheshwari, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology
Key references
The Information Technology Intermediaries Guidelines (Amendment), 2018 [download]
IT Rules 2011 [read]
Shreya Singhal Judgment: [read]
Summary of the IT Rules
Intermediaries And Social Media Platforms [read]
Digital News Publishing [read]
OTT Streaming Services [read]
Key developments
Unblocking of handles: IT Ministry notice to Twitter warns of consequences [Read]
CEO Will Cathcart says WhatsApp hopes to find solution to traceability without breaking encryption [read]
India’s FOSS community files plea in Kerala High Court against IT Rules, challenges traceability mandate [read]
Opinion/Analysis Pieces
The Case of the Online Intermediary by Chinmayi Arun [Read]
To be clear, India is not alone.
Regulators around the world have also ramped up scrutiny on the outsized influence of Silicon Valley s tech titans. From the United States to Europe and Australia, regulators are tightening the rules to keep Big Tech in check.
Keeping Big Tech in check
From tackling fake news to preventing monopolistic practices, the Indian government has come down hard on Big Tech in recent months.
In February, New Delhi announced sweeping reforms to that would hold social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp and others more accountable to legal requests
. They would be required to take down content the government deems unlawful while messaging service providers would be required to identify original posters of certain messages but that could mean breaking end-to-end encryption promised to users.
India wants to cut Big Tech down to size Critics say the new rules may give the state too much power msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.