Updated: What are the dos and don’ts for social media and OTT platforms? Share Article AAA Representative Image: For digital publishers of news and current affairs as well as video streaming services, an identical three-tier structure for grievance redressal has been mandated. File Photo.
What are the dos and don’ts for social media and OTT platforms? The story so far: On Thursday, in a long-anticipated move, the government notified guidelines that seek to provide a grievance redressal mechanism for users of digital platforms of all kinds — social media sites, messaging apps, over-the-top (OTT) streaming services, and digital news publishers. The Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 also mandate that social media and messaging platforms will have to adhere to new requirements in assisting investigative agencies of the government. Launching the guidelines, Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said they were a “soft-touch oversight” mechanism to deal with issues such as the persistent spread of fake news and other misinformation.