AMN / NEW DELHI
The Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on Tuesday issued an advisory to social-media intermediaries, asking them to ensure that users on these platforms do not violate the content restrictions placed under Rule 3(1)(b) of the Information Technology (IT) Rules.
“Today, a formal advisory has been issued (to intermediaries) incorporating the ‘agreed to’ procedures to ensure that users on these platforms do not violate the prohibited content in Rule 3(1)(b), and if such legal violations are noted or reported, then the consequences under law will follow,” said Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said a formal advisory was issued on Tuesday. It incorporated the procedures to ensure that users on these platforms do not violate the prohibited content in Rule 3(1)(b).
“If such legal violations are noted or reported, then the consequences under law will follow,” Chandrasekhar said. He added that the MeitY will closely observe the compliance of intermediaries in the coming weeks and follow this up with further amendments to the IT Rules and/or the law if and when required.
What does the advisory say?
The advisory stated that the content not permitted under IT rules must be clearly communicated to users.
“The content not permitted under the IT Rules, in particular those listed under Rule 3(1)(b), must be clearly communicated to the users in clear and precise language including through its terms of service and user agreements,” the ministry said.
It added that “the same must be expressly informed to the user at the time of first-registration and also as regular reminders, in particular, at every instance of login and while uploading/sharing information onto the platform.”
What the Rule 3(1)(b) says
Rule 3(1)(b) of the IT rules mandates intermediaries to communicate their rules, regulations, privacy policy, and user agreement in the user’s preferred language.
“They are also obliged to ensure reasonable efforts to prevent users from hosting, displaying, uploading, modifying, publishing, transmitting, storing, updating, or sharing any information related to the 11 listed user harms or content prohibited on digital intermediaries,” the government said.
This rule aims to ensure that platforms “identify and promptly remove misinformation, false or misleading content, and material impersonating others, including deepfakes”.
