Context:

The Minister of State, IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar proposed the Digital India Act, 2023 as a replacement for the outdated IT Act, 2000. He questioned the need for a ‘safe harbour’ for all intermediaries.

Safe harbour protections for intermediaries are at risk:

• The government has been working towards increasing the compliance burden on Internet intermediaries, in particular in the IT Rules 2021 and its later amendments. 
• These Rules put the onus on social media intermediaries to arbitrate on content on their platforms with regulations.
• An amendment in October 2022 provided for government-appointed committees that will adjudicate on an individual user’s appeals against moderation decisions of these intermediaries. 
• In January 2023, the IT Ministry proposed an amendment on the take down of social media/news content that has been marked as “fake” or “false” by the Press Information Bureau or any other government agency.

Requirements:

• The IT Rules’ specifications on giving users prior notice before removing content or disabling access, and for intermediaries to come up with periodic compliance reports are well taken. 
• Social media intermediaries should not shut down users’ posts or communications except in the interests of public order and to avoid legal consequences. 
• The requirements on intermediaries should not become needlessly onerous and punitive, which also vitiate the principle of safe harbour. 

Concern:

• There is a legitimate concern that the government is keener on regulating or taking down critical opinion or dissent in social media/news platforms than hate speech or disinformation, which in many cases has originated from representatives of the state. 

Intermediaries need to focus:

• Regulation of hate speech and disinformation on the Internet is a must and intermediaries, including digital news media and social media platforms, have an accountable role to play. 

Conclusion:

While modern regulations to tackle issues related to misinformation, problematic content and the side effects of the new form of the Internet are a must, they should still retain first principles of safe harbour without whittling down their core.

News Source: The Hindu

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