The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has once again notified the online platforms, including social media intermediaries, to more stringently adhere to content moderation laws. It does not impose new regulations or penalties, but it is the latest signal that platforms have failed to sufficiently police content for decency, obscenity and illegal activity. The MEITY has cautioned that further violation would lead to punitive action against these intermediary or platform owners and users.
No New Laws, But Clear Warning on Enforcement
In the advisory, a copy of which has been reviewed by Gadgets 360, MeitY said that the intermediaries are not complying with the due diligence requirements under provisions of the IT Act, 2000, and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. The ministry added that it has received several inputs through public grievances, stakeholder representations and court orders indicating there is content available online which violates the already existing laws.
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MeitY points out that these are issues on which there is a debate in various forums, including society at large, regarding responsible use of the platforms and the scope for free speech. The advisory noted that freedom of speech and expression under the Constitution is subject to reasonable restrictions imposed by law, which has also been discussed in Parliament as well as court deliberations.
What Counts as Non-Compliant Content
The ministry explained that content moderation refers to the "identification, flagging, notification and removal of unlawful information, including content, by using automated tools or any other appropriate mechanism". This obligation would be under social media intermediaries and other entities covered by the IT Act and IT Rules, 2021.
MeitY, in particular, referred to Rule 3(1)(b) of the IT Rules, 2021, under which platforms are mandated to make efforts to ensure that users don’t host or share objectionable content. After intermediaries receive a court order or notice from the government authority (govt)/its authorised agency, they are required to remove/disable any access to this content within the mentioned timeframe.
24-Hour Deadline for Sensitive Complaints
The guidance also repeated an important caveat about sexual content with people. Platforms would need to remove or restrict access within 24 hours to content showing a person in a sexual act or pretending to be that person performing such acts whenever they receive a complaint from the individual depicted in it or someone working on their behalf.
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Legal Risks for Platforms That Fail to Comply
MeitY cautioned that non-compliance with these statutory duties may lead to intermediaries losing the safe harbour protection under Section 79 of the IT Act. "Without such exception, platforms/intermediaries would be subject to legal liability for that user-generated content and subject to action under the IT Act or Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023.
What MeitY Wants Platforms to Do Now
MeitY has also warned online companies and social media sites to take a closer look at their internal compliance systems to save themselves from legal action. This also includes re-evaluation of the mechanisms of content moderation, as well as provision to enable a user-enforcing system and implementation process under the IT Act and IT Rules, 2021. The intention is clear: the laws are already there, and platforms should apply them more diligently.