India joined the global regulatory push to rein in Silicon Valley technology giants, tightening rules that govern how social media and streaming companies do business in the world’s biggest democracy.
Central Government Releases New Guidelines To Regulate Digital Content, Exercise Greater Control Over Big Tech
Source: ANI
The central government has drawn out rules to regulate social media companies, OTT streaming platforms, digital news outlets along with internet-based businesses and organizations to exercise further control over the big tech,
News 18reports.
The Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 mandates that the government social media firms like Facebook and Twitter to delete controversial content as early as possible, but not more than 36 hours, once an order from the government or a legal order is issued.
Meanwhile, the concerned companies should also give information and assist with investigations within 72 hours once a request is issued by the authorities. Also, the firms should dismiss or remove any content regarding sexual act or conduct inside 24 hours of obtaining a complaint.
The government today announced new rules to regulate digital content and establish what it called a "soft touch progressive institutional mechanism with 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, said Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. 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 rules include a strict oversight mechanism involving several ministries and a code of ethics that bans content affecting "the sovereignty and integrity of India" and that which threatens national security.
February 25, 2021 IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar address press conference | Credit: PIB YouTube channel
The Indian government has issued the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. The Rules propose significant changes in how internet intermediaries are regulated in India, and propose new regulatory mechanisms for digital media outlets and streaming services.
The government is empowering ordinary users of social media services, IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar said, while announcing the Rules in a press conference on Thursday. They said the basic essence of the Rules was a “soft touch oversight mechanism”. Prasad said that the government is insisting upon platforms to develop their own mechanisms to monitor and take down content, while building robust grievance redressal systems.
Terming the guidelines as soft touch regulations, the government said there was an urgent need to address rising user grievances related to social media, OTT platforms and online news platforms