Centre notifies new guidelines on social media regulation: All you need to know!

The centre notified Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 on February 25, 2021. The new guidelines are aimed at regulating social media and OTT platforms. Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad and Prakash Javadekar briefed the media regarding the guidelines.

The Union Ministers hailed the social media platforms for empowering ordinary Indians and praised them for garnering popularity and a good number of users. The Ministers also welcomed social media platforms to do business in India. 

Every social media platforms are welcome in India but there shouldn't be double standards. If attack takes place on Capitol Hill, then SM supports police action but if there's aggressive attack on Red Fort, then you've double standards. This is plainly not acceptable: RS Prasad pic.twitter.com/FPLGyawNIn

— ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2021

While agreeing that the social media platform can certainly be used for asking questions and criticise, the Ministers reiterated the importance of regulating the platforms for accountability against its misuse and abuse. They also highlighted that the platforms need to follow the Constitution and laws of India.

Key Details 

•  The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 has been framed by exercising powers under section 87 (2) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and in supersession of the earlier Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules 2011.

•  The rules have been released after elaborate consultation with the public and stakeholders amid growing concerns around lack of transparency, accountability and rights of users related to digital media.

•  Both the Ministries of Electronics and Information Technology and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting undertook elaborate consultations among themselves while finalising the rules to have a harmonious, soft-touch oversight mechanism in relation to social media platforms as well as digital media and OTT platforms etc.

•  Part- II of these Rules will be administered by the Ministry of Electronics and IT, while Part-III relating to the Code of Ethics and procedure and safeguards in relation to digital media shall be administered by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Social Media Guidelines: Highlights 

•  The new rules prescribe due diligence that must be followed by intermediaries, including social media intermediaries. 

•  The rules also seek to empower the users by mandating the intermediaries, including social media intermediaries, to establish a grievance redressal mechanism for receiving resolving complaints from the users or victims. 

Empowering ordinary users of social media. Must have robust grievance redressal mechanism instituting complaint within 24 hrs&redressal in 15 days. Must have chief compliance officer,nodal contact person&resident grievance officer for significant social media: Union Min RS Prasad pic.twitter.com/8tLrvIbbXU

— ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2021

•  The intermediaries shall appoint a Grievance Officer to deal with such complaints and share the name and contact details of such officers. The Grievance Officer will have to acknowledge the complaint within 24 hours and resolve it within 15 days from its receipt.

•  The intermediaries will also have to remove or disable access within 24 hours of receipt of complaints of contents that expose private areas of individuals, show them especially women in full/ partial nudity or in a sexual act or is in the nature of impersonation including morphed images. The complaint can be filed either by the concerned individual or any other person on his/her behalf.

Significant social media to have chief compliance officer-resident in India-responsible for ensuring compliance of Acts, have nodal contact person-resident in India-for coordination with law enforcement agencies, have resident grievance officer for grievance redressal: RS Prasad

— ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2021

•  The rules make a distinction between social media intermediaries and significant social media intermediaries based on the number of users on the social media platform.

Concerns raised over the yrs about rampant abuse of social media...Ministry had widespread consultations & we prepared a draft in Dec 2018 - there'll be 2 categories, Intermediary which can be social media intermediary & significant social media intermediary: Union Min RS Prasad pic.twitter.com/P1MYNXzbAd

— ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2021

The significant social media intermediaries will have to follow certain additional due diligence such as follows: 

-Appoint Chief Compliance Officer who will be responsible for ensuring compliance with the Act and Rules. 

-Appoint Nodal Contact Person for 24x7 coordination with law enforcement agencies.

-Appoint Resident Grievance Officer who will perform the functions mentioned under Grievance Redressal Mechanism.  (All these officers or officials have to be residents of India)

-Besides this, the significant social media intermediaries will have to publish a monthly compliance report mentioning details of complaints received and action taken as well as details of contents removed proactively.

-The significant social media intermediaries providing services such as messaging will have to enable identification of the first originator of the mischievous information that is required only for the purposes of prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution or punishment of an offence related to sovereignty and integrity of India.

This should be only in relation to sovereignty & integrity of India, the security of the state, public order, relations with foreign states, or rape, sexually explicit content etc: Union Electronics & Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad (2/2)

— ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2021

-The Intermediary shall not be required to disclose the contents of any message or any other information to the first originator.

-The significant social media intermediary will also be required to have a physical contact address in India published on its website or mobile app or both.

- Verification: The users who wish to verify their accounts voluntarily will have to be provided an appropriate mechanism to verify their accounts and provided with a demonstrable and visible mark of verification. 

- In cases where the social media intermediaries remove or disable access to any information, then a prior intimation for the same will have to be communicated to the user who has shared that information with a notice explaining the grounds and reasons for such action. 

- The users should be provided with an adequate and reasonable opportunity to dispute the action taken by the intermediary. 

If you seek to disable access to the content of any social media user, you are required to give him reasons and also hear him: Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad https://t.co/wZlsfe2sF8

— ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2021

Digital Media Ethics Code relating to Digital Media/ OTT Platforms 

The centre stated that there have been widespread concerns about issues relating to digital content both on digital media and OTT platforms. The Government has received many complaints from civil society and parents requesting interventions, highlighting the imperative need for an appropriate institutional mechanism. 

Therefore, the government decided that issues relating to digital media and OTT and other creative programmes on the Internet shall be administered by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting but the overall architecture shall be under the Information Technology Act, which governs digital platforms.

The new rules establish a soft-touch self-regulatory architecture and a Code of Ethics and a three-tier grievance redressal mechanism for news publishers, digital media and OTT Platforms. They also empower the I&B Ministry to implement Part-III of the Rules which prescribe the following:

•  Code of Ethics for online news, OTT platforms and digital media, which prescribe guidelines to be followed by OTT platforms and online news and digital media entities.

•  Self-Classification of Content: The OTT would be required to self-classify the content into five age-based categories- 

1. U (Universal)
2. U/A 7+
3. U/A 13+
4. U/A 16+
5. A (Adult)

•  The 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 classification rating specific to each content or programme will need to be displayed prominently 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 programme.

•  The publishers of news on digital media will be required to observe 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.

Source: PIB