• Government notifies Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021
• Social media platforms are welcome to do business in India, but they need to follow the Constitution and laws of India.
• Social media platforms can certainly be used for asking questions and criticize
• Social media platforms have empowered ordinary users but need accountability against misuse and abuse.
• The new Rules empower ordinary social media users, embodying a mechanism for redressal and timely resolving their grievances.
• Rules about digital media and OTT focus more on in-house and self-regulation mechanisms whereby a robust grievance redressal mechanism has been provided while upholding journalistic and creative freedom.
• The proposed framework is progressive, liberal, and contemporaneous
• It seeks to address peoples’ varied concerns while removing any misapprehension about curbing creativity and freedom of speech and expression
• The guidelines have been framed keeping in mind the difference between viewership in a theatre and television as compared to watching it on the Internet

 Amidst growing concerns around the lack of transparency, accountability, and rights of users related to digital media and after elaborate consultation with the public and stakeholders, the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 has been framed in exercise of powers under section 87 (2) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and in supersession of the earlier Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules 2011.

While finalizing these Rules, the Ministries of Electronics and Information Technology and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting undertook elaborate consultations to have a harmonious, soft-touch oversight mechanism with social media dig, ital media OTT, platforms, etc.

Part- II of these Rules shall be administered by the Ministry of Electronics and IT. At the same time, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting shall issue Part III, relating to the Code of Ethics and procedure and safeguards concerning digital media.

The Digital India programme has now become a movement empowering familiar Indians with the power of technology. The extensive spread of mobile phones, the Internet, etc., has also enabled many social media platforms to expand their footprints in India. Ordinary people are also using these platforms in a very significant way. Some portals which publish analyses about social media platforms and which have not been disputed have reported the following numbers as the user base of major social media platforms in India:

• WhatsApp users: 53 Crore
• YouTube users: 44.8 Crore
• Facebook users: 41 Crore
• Instagram users: 21 Crore
• Twitter users: 1.75 Crore

 These social platforms have enabled familiar Indians to show their creativity, ask questions, be informed, and freely share their views, including criticism of the Government and its functionaries. The Government acknowledges and respects the right of every Indian to criticize and disagree, which is an essential element of democracy. India is the world’s largest open Internet society, and the Government welcomes social media companies to operate in India, do business, and make profits. However, they will have to be accountable to the Constitution and laws of India.

           The proliferation of social media, on the one hand, empowers citizens. Still, on the other hand, it also gives rise to serious concerns and consequences that have grown manifold in recent years. These concerns have been raised occasionally in various forums, including the Parliament and its committees, judicial orders, and civil society deliberations in different parts of the country. Such concerns are also raised all over the world and are becoming international issues.

Of late, some alarming developments have been observed on social media platforms. The persistent spread of fake news has compelled many media platforms to create fact-check mechanisms. Rampant abuse of social media to share morphed images of women and content related to revenge porn have often threatened the dignity of women. Misuse of social media for settling corporate rivalries in a blatantly unethical manner has become a significant concern for businesses. Instances of use of abusive language, defamatory and obscene content, and blatant disrespect to religious sentiments through platforms are growing.

Over the years, the increasing instances of misuse of social media by criminals and anti-national elements have brought new challenges for law enforcement agencies. These include inducement for the recruitment of terrorists, circulation of obscene content, the spread of disharmony, financial fraud, incitement of violence, public order, etc.

It was found that currently, there is no robust complaint mechanism wherein ordinary users of social media and OTT platforms can register their complaints and get them redressed within a defined timeline. The lack of transparency and absence of a robust grievance redressal mechanism has left the users dependent on the whims and fancies of social media platforms. Often, it has been seen that a user who has spent his time, energy, and money developing a social media profile is left with no remedies if that profile is restricted or removed by the platform without giving any opportunity to be heard.

Evolution of Social Media and Other Intermediaries:

• If we notice the evolution of social media intermediaries, they are no longer limited to playing the role of pure intermediaries and often become publishers. These Rules are a fine blend of liberal touch with a gentle self-regulatory framework. It works on the existing laws and statutes of the country that apply to content, whether online or offline. Regarding news and current affairs, publishers are expected to follow the journalistic conduct of the Press Council of India and the Programme Code under the Cable Television Network Act, which already applies to print and TV. Hence, only a level playing field has been proposed.

Rationale and Justification for New Guidelines:

These Rules substantially empower the ordinary users of digital platforms to seek redressal for their grievances and command accountability in case of infringement of their rights. In this direction, the following developments are noteworthy:

• The Supreme Court in suo-moto writ petition (Prajjawala case) vide order dated 11/12/2018 had observed that the Government of India may frame necessary guidelines to eliminate child pornography, rape, and gangrape imageries, videos, and sites in content hosting platforms and other applications.
• The Supreme Court, via order dated 24/09/2019, had directed the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to appraise the timeline without notifying the new rules.
• There was a Calling Attention Motion on the misuse of social media and spread of fake news in the Rajya Sabha, and the Minister conveyed to the house on 26/07/2018 the resolve of the Government to strengthen the legal framework and make the social media platforms accountable under the law. He had said this after repeated demands from the Members of the Parliament to take corrective measures.
• The ad hoc committee of the Rajya Sabha laid its report on 03/02/2020 after studying the alarming issue of pornography on social media and its effect on children and society as a whole. It recommended enabling the identification of the first originator of such content.

Consultations

• The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) prepared draft Rules and invited public comments on 24/12/2018. MEITY received 171 comments from individuals, civil society, industry associations, and organizations. 80 counter comments to these comments were also obtained. These comments were analyzed in detail, and an inter-ministerial meeting was also held, and accordingly, these rules were finalized.

Salient Features

Guidelines Related to Social Media to Be Administered by the Ministry of Electronics and IT:

• Due Diligence To Be Followed By Intermediaries: The Rules prescribe due diligence that intermediaries, including social media intermediaries, must follow. If the intermediary does not follow due diligence, safe harbour provisions will not apply to them.
• Grievance Redressal Mechanism: The Rules seek to empower the users by mandating the intermediaries, including social media intermediaries, to establish a grievance redressal mechanism for receiving and resolving user or victim complaints. Intermediaries shall appoint a Grievance Officer to deal with such complaints and share the name and contact details of such officers. The grievance Officer shall acknowledge the complaint within twenty-four hours and resolve it within fifteen days of receipt.
• Ensuring Online Safety and Dignity of Users, Especially Women Users: Intermediaries shall remove or disable access within 24 hours of receipt of complaints of contents that exposes the private areas of individuals, shows such individuals in full or partial nudity or sexual act or is like impersonation including morphed images, etc. Such a complaint can be filed by the individual or any other person on his/her behalf.
• Two Categories of Social Media Intermediaries: To encourage innovations and enable the growth of new social media intermediaries without subjecting smaller platforms to significant compliance requirements, the Rules make a distinction between social media intermediaries and effective social media intermediaries. This distinction is based on the number of users on the social media platform. The Government is empowered to notify the threshold of a user base that will distinguish between social media intermediaries and significant social media intermediaries. The Rules require the essential social media intermediaries to follow additional due diligence.
• Additional Due Diligence to Be Followed by Significant Social Media Intermediary:
  • Appoint a Chief Compliance Officer responsible for ensuring compliance with the Act and Rules. Such a person should be a resident of India.
  • Appoint a Nodal Contact Person for 24×7 coordination with law enforcement agencies. Such a person shall be a resident of India.
  • Appoint a Resident Grievance Officer to perform the functions mentioned under the Grievance Redressal Mechanism. Such a person shall be a resident of India.
  • Publish a monthly compliance report mentioning the details of complaints received and action taken on the complaints, as well as more information on contents proactively removed by the significant social media intermediary.
  • Significant social media intermediaries providing services primarily like messaging shall enable identification of the first originator of the information that is required only for prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution, or punishment of an offence related to the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign states, or public order or of incitement to an offence about 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. An intermediary shall not be required to disclose the contents of any message or any other information to the first originator.
  • Significant social media intermediaries shall have a physical contact address in India published on their website, mobile app, or both.
  • Voluntary User Verification Mechanism: Users who wish to verify their accounts voluntarily shall be provided an appropriate mechanism to verify their accounts and provided with demonstrable and visible marks of verification.
  • Giving Users An Opportunity to Be Heard: In cases where significant social media intermediaries remove or disable access to any information on their own accord, then a prior intimation for the same shall be communicated to the user who has shared that information with a notice explaining the grounds and reasons for such action. Users must be provided an adequate and reasonable opportunity to dispute the action taken by the intermediary.
• Removal of Unlawful Information: An intermediary, upon receiving actual knowledge in the form of an order by a court or being notified by the Appropriate Govt. or its agencies through an authorized officer, should not host or publish any information which is prohibited under any law concerning the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India, public order, friendly relations with foreign countries, etc.
• The Rules will come into effect from the date of their publication in the gazette, except for the additional due diligence for significant social media intermediaries, which shall come into effect 3 months after publication of these Rules.

Digital Media Ethics Code Relating to Digital Media and OTT Platforms to Be Administered by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting:

There have been widespread concerns about issues relating to digital content both on digital media and OTT platforms. Civil Society, filmmakers, political leaders, the Chief Minister, trade organizations, and associations have all voiced their concerns and highlighted the need for an appropriate institutional mechanism. The Government also received many complaints from civil society and parents requesting interventions. There were many court proceedings in the Supreme Court and High Courts, where courts also urged the Government to take suitable measures.

Since the matter relates to digital platforms, a conscious decision was taken that issues about digital media, OTT, and other creative programmes on the Internet shall be administered by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Still, the overall architecture shall be under the Information Technology Act, which governs digital platforms.

Consultations

           Ministry of Information and Broadcasting held consultations in Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai over the last one and half years wherein OTT players have been urged to develop a “self-regulatory mechanism”. The Government also studied the models in other countries, including Singapore, Australia, the EU, and the UK, and has gathered that most have an institutional mechanism to regulate digital content or are setting up one.

            The Rules establish a soft-touch self-regulatory architecture, a Code of Ethics, and a three-tier grievance redressal mechanism for news publishers, OTT Platforms,,, and digital media.

Notified under section 87 of the Information Technology Act, these Rules empower the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to implement Part-III of the Rules, which prescribe the following:

• Code of Ethics for online news, OTT platforms, and digital media: This Code of Ethics prescribes the guidelines to be followed by OTT platforms, online news, and digital media entities.
• Self-Classification of Content: The OTT platforms, called the publishers of online curated content in the rules, would self-classify the content into five age-based categories– U (Universal), U/A 7+, U/A 13+, U/A 16+, and A (Adult). Platforms would be required to implement parental locks for content classified as U/A 13+ or higher and reliable age verification mechanisms for content classified as “A”. The publisher of online curated content shall prominently display the classification rating specific to each content or program together with a content descriptor informing the user about the nature of the content and advising on viewer description (if applicable) at the beginning of every program, enabling the user to make an informed decision, before watching the programme.
• Publishers of news on digital media would be required to observe the Norms of Journalistic Conduct of the Press Council of India and the Programme Code under the Cable Television Networks Regulation Act, thereby providing a level playing field between the offline (Print, TV) and digital media.
• A three-level grievance redressal mechanism with different levels of self-regulation has been established under the rules.
  • Level-I: Self-regulation by the publishers;
  • Level II: Self-regulation by the self-regulating bodies of the publishers;
  • Level-III: Oversight mechanism.
• Self-regulation by the Publisher: The publisher shall appoint a Grievance Redressal Officer based in India who shall be responsible for the redressal of grievances it receives. The officer shall decide on every grievance received within 15 days.
• Self-Regulatory Body: There may be one or more self-regulatory bodies of publishers. Such a body shall be headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court, a High Court, or an independent eminent person and have not more than six members. Such a body must register with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. This body will oversee the adherence by the publisher to the Code of Ethics and address grievances not resolved by the publisher within 15 days.
• Oversight Mechanism: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting shall formulate an oversight mechanism. It shall publish a charter for self-regulating bodies, including Codes of Practice. It shall establish an Inter-Departmental Committee to hear grievances.

Source: PIB Delhi
Ministry of Electronics & IT
Date: 25 FEB 2021 2:44PM 
Release ID: 1700749