The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) recently issued a draft proposal for public comment on a set of proposed amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. However, the draft was withdrawn on the same day. These rules were initially notified in February 2021 and involve various mandates for social media platforms.
The Law: Mandating Social Media for Greater Diligence
The Information Technology Rules, 2021 stipulate that social media platforms should exercise more diligence with regard to their content. They must establish a grievance redressal mechanism, and ensure any unlawful or unfitting content is removed within set time frames. The platforms’ grievance officer is responsible for receiving and addressing user complaints, acknowledging receipt of the complaint within 24 hours and resolving it within 15 days.
Privacy Policies and Their Importance
The privacy policies of these platforms should educate users about refraining from circulating copyrighted material. They should also caution against content that could be considered defamatory, racially or ethnically objectionable, paedophilic, which threaten the unity, integrity, defense, security or sovereignty of India. These policies should also respect friendly relations with foreign states and any current laws.
Changes Proposed in the Withdrawn Draft
The withdrawn draft proposed adding a ‘Grievance Appellate Committee’, an extra level of oversight over the intermediary’s grievance redressal officer. This would allow unsatisfied users to appeal against the decision at the appellate before going directly to court. However, this change wouldn’t remove the user’s right to appeal in other courts. All appeals handled by the appellate should be complied with.
The Issue with the IT Rules 2021
The proposed amendments would have made the government a regulator of permissible speech on the internet, potentially encouraging social media platforms to suppress content unfavorable to the government. Further, it obligated social media intermediaries to resolve all complaints within 72 hours of reporting, which raised concerns about an overly hasty approach.
Legal Challenges to the Rules
In 2021, there was a stay on the implementation of sub-clauses 1 and 3 of Rule 9 of the legislative guidelines that dealt with the ‘Code of Ethics’ for online publishers. This code outlined a three-tier grievance mechanism, including self-regulation by publishers, self-regulating bodies of publishers and an oversight mechanism by the Central Government. The Bombay High Court stated that these rules could stifle freedom of speech and expression.
The Way Forward
Asking platforms to share more user information might backfire in a country without a data privacy law. Citizens need protection against possible overreach from any party. Therefore, there’s an urgent need to pass the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019. If additional regulation is still required, it should be implemented through legislation discussed in Parliament, rather than relying on executive rule-making powers under Section 69A of the IT Act.