5 days ago
A number of news reports yesterday suggested that because of non-compliance with the Information Technology Rules 2021, platforms such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook face a ban in the country. The IT Rules come into force for social media platforms today, the 26th of May 2021, exactly 3 months after they were issued.
A few points to note:
1. Not just Twitter, Instagram and Facebook: To be classified as a Significant Social Media intermediary, platforms need to have over 5 million registered users, and “which primarily or solely enables online interaction between two or more users and allows them to create, upload, share, disseminate, modify or access information using its service”
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]
The Electronic Frontier Foundation said India's 2021 Rules restrict companies’ discretion in moderating their own platforms and create new possibilities for government surveillance of citizens.
India s Strict Rules For Online Intermediaries Undermine Freedom of Expression eff.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from eff.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
On February 25, 2021, the Indian government unveiled the Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (the <b>New Rules</b> ). Once notified in the Offi.