New Delhi: The government announced Thursday new rules to regulate digital content and establish a ‘soft touch progressive institutional mechanism with a level playing field’ featuring a Code of Ethics and a three-tier grievance redressal framework for news sites and OTT platforms. The rules will empower users of social media, Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said. The IT Minister stated that the rules have been framed keeping in mind the country’s interest.
The rules include a strict oversight mechanism involving several ministries and a code of ethics that bans content affecting ‘the sovereignty and integrity of India’. Also any content which threatens national security will not be allowed.
The Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 prescribes, for the first time, how digital news organisations, social media platforms and OTT streaming services will be regulated by the government.
The oversight mechanism will include a committee with representatives from the ministries of Defence, External Affairs, Home, I&B, Law, IT and Women and Child Development. This committee will have ‘suo motu powers’ to call hearings on complaints of violation of the Code of Ethics if it wants. The government will also appoint an officer of the rank of a Joint Secretary. The person will have the right to block contents if those are found ‘harmful’.
The rules make traceability of the originator of messages a must on prominent social media sites, which goes against end-to-end encryption on messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and Signal
The rules force streaming services like Netflix and Prime Video to submit to the authority of an appeals body headed by a retired high court or Supreme Court justice. Detailed classification of content on the basis of age sex, violence and nudity has also been listed. If the appellate body finds the content violates law, it is empowered to send the content to a government-controlled committee for blocking orders to be issued.
The code of ethics will include rules of journalistic conduct under the Press Council of India.
Key features
Social media sites have to remove or disable offensive or illegal content within 36 hours of being notified or of a court order.
Social media messaging sites have to enable tracking of first originator of information.
The intermediary has to, within 72 hours, provide information to the government agency authorised to investigate cyber security incidents and violation of the law.
Companies have to appoint a grievance officer to receive, acknowledge and resolve complaints within a month.
An intermediary has to, within 24 hours of a complaint, remove or disable access to content that is illegal or offensive.
Tech giants will also have to appoint grievance officers.
A Chief Compliance Officer resident in India and compliance reports every six months.