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
Synopsis
In the making since 2018, the rules come close on the heels of a huge stand-off between the government of India and micro-blogging platform Twitter.
New guidelines for Social Media, OTT Platforms: How will it impact you?
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The government issued new rules to police online content that mandate social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to take down flagged posts with 36 hours of receiving a notice, direct encrypted messaging apps to trace certain messages back to the originator along with introducing a mechanism for voluntarily verification of users as a means to curb fake and anonymous posting on social media. These will have a major impact on the way social media platforms are regulated and governed in India.
Govt tightens scrutiny on social media sites
The government had asked OTT platforms to come up with a code of self-regulation multiple times but the last draft of the same had allowed for no third-party intervention
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The government on Thursday unveiled sweeping rules aimed at giving it greater control over large social media and messaging firms, such as Facebook and Twitter, digital news websites and video-streaming platforms.
The new rules are likely to have far-reaching implications for digital media and follow a clash with Twitter over the farmers’ protest.
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NEW DELHI: Digital news platforms and publishers of online curated content operating in India will have to inform the information and broadcasting ministry about where and how they publish, the nature of content they release, and the size of their subscriber base within 30 days of the notification of the Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, for existing platforms, I&B minister Prakash Javadekar said on Thursday.
Clarifying that this was not a mandatory registration process, Javadekar said the information would enable future communication and coordination between the ministry and digital news media platforms, whose exact numbers are unknown as yet. He was responding to questions about why stakeholders in the digital news media segment were not consulted by the ministry ahead of notification of the draft rules.
Synopsis
Under the new structure, the second level will be a self-regulatory body, headed by a retired judge of a high court or Supreme Court. The judge will have to be appointed from a panel prepared by the ministry, and have up to six other members, who can be experts from the field of media, broadcasting, technology and entertainment.
Govt sets strict guidelines for social media, OTT platforms: Key highlights
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Video streaming service providers Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, MX Player and 15 others will now have to adhere to the new guidelines and self-regulatory mechanism notified by the government on Thursday, even as they were in the process of implementing their own self-regulation code.