Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology proposes changes to IT rules

NEW DELHI/BENGALURU :  In an apparent move to put a leash on social media platforms, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has released a fresh draft of the amendments to the Information Technology (IT) Rules 2021. Last week, the ministry had pulled off the draft amendments within hours after releasing it, and said a new set of rules would be uploaded soon.

According to the fresh draft, it has been proposed to create an appellate body --- ‘Grievance Appellate Committee’.  Users will have the option to appeal against the grievance redressal process of the intermediaries, including social media intermediaries, before this new appellate body.

The Union government has also proposed the requirement by intermediaries to address certain complaints regarding removal of content from a platform within 72 hours, considering the nature of cyber space providing instant communication, outreach and virality.

The ministry notified that these proposed amendments will not impact early stage or growth stage Indian companies or start-ups. The IT Ministry said the proposed rule requires intermediaries to respect the rights guaranteed to users under the Constitution of India. This has been made necessary because a number of intermediaries have acted in violation of constitutional rights of Indian citizens, it said.

MeitY has also invited comments from stakeholders in the next 30 days. Stressing the importance of the new amendments, it said in a note, “As the digital ecosystem and connected Internet users in India expand, so do the challenges and problems faced by them, as well as some of the infirmities and gaps that exist in the current rule vis-a-vis Big Tech platform. Therefore, new amendments have been proposed to the IT Rules 2021, to address these challenges and gaps.”

It will also arrange a formal public consultation meeting by mid-June. The broad principles in these amended rules include that unlawful and harmful information will be quickly removed when reported by users, while also providing the users a reasonable opportunity to respond in case of significant social media platforms.

MeitY has proposed four amendments
It has proposed to bring in a new Grievance Appellate Committee
The committee to have power to overrule any decision
MeitY will hold a formal public consultation meeting by June-mid
Grievances should be addressed regarding content removal from platforms within 72 hours