Critical evaluation on social media and new IT rules, 2021

Introduction

Social media is used by billions of people worldwide to connect and exchange information. Social media gives you the personal freedom to interact with loved ones, learn new things, explore new hobbies, and be entertained. By engaging with other professionals in a business, one may use social media to expand a professional network and deepen expertise in a certain subject. Social media allows businesses to interact with customers, get their opinion, and build brand recognition.

Eve-teasing, stalking, and cyberbullying are some of the prevalent crimes committed through social media. Since 2020, there has been an 11.8 percent increase in cybercrimes in India. More offenses were committed during the COVID-19 shutdown.

Threats, bullying, harassment, and stalking are the offenses that are most frequently reported and observed on Twitter and other social media sites.

With all this, being the circumstances of bad usage of social media platforms, the new IT (Intermediary guidelines& digital media ethics code) rules 2021, pave a different way and have hit society and social media platforms as well, in a different way.

Purpose

The emerging issues on social media content have put enormous pressure on cybercrime prevention agencies & thus a need for stricter regulatory rules has emerged. The main aim is to provide a robust complaint mechanism for the users of social media and over-the-top (OTT) platforms to address their grievances. Emphasis on the protection of women and children from sexual offenses on social media. Online content publishers and social media intermediaries should follow the constitution of a country and subject themselves to domestic laws.

After reading this article, one can come to know what is the impact of the new social media & IT rules implemented in 2021 and the issues faced by such implementation

Timelines

In 2018, in Tahseen poonawala v. UOI, the Supreme Court observed that the Indian government may frame necessary guidelines to eradicate child pornography, rape & gang rape imageries, videos, and sites on content hosting platforms.

In 2020, an ADHOC committee of the Rajya Sabha submitted its report on the issue of social media pornography and its effects on children and society as a whole.

In 2020, the Government of India also brought OTT platforms under the ambit of the information & broadcasting ministry.

New IT (intermediary guidelines & digital media ethics code) rules 2021

Social media intermediaries

Social media intermediaries are those that are used primarily or exclusively to facilitate online communication between two or more users, according to the 2021 Rules.

The Rules go on to define a significant social media intermediary (abbreviated “SSMI”) as a social media intermediary with more than 50 lakh registered users in India. The major SSMIs in India as of right now include WhatsApp, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Under New IT Rules 2021, there is certain due diligence to be followed by social media intermediaries, while discharging their duties.

OTT platforms

Regarding OTT platforms, these are the new rules which have been implemented. Content should be self-categorized into five age groups: 7 and older, 13 and older, and 16 and older and A. Parental controls for any material rated U/A (13+) or higher. Verification of age for content rated “A”

Digital media & news

The government has also asked the digital news media portals to observe the norms of Journalism conduct of the press council of India and the program code under the cable television networks regulation acct 1955. A 3-tier grievance redressal mechanism will be in place for dealing with complaints regarding content.

Self-regulation by the publishers

• Appointment of a chief compliance officer to ensure compliance with IT ACT &RULES
• Appointing a grievance officer residing in India.
• He should acknowledge the complaint within 24 hours & resolve it within 15 days of its receipt.

Self-regulating bodies

There must be one or more bodies for publishers to self-regulate. A renowned person, a high court judge, or a retired judge of the supreme court may preside over such a body. Such a body shouldn’t include more than six people. An organisation of this type must register with the ministry of information and broadcasting. The Ministry of information & broadcasting will formulate an oversight mechanism. Appointment of a chief compliance officer to ensure compliance with I.T. Act and Rules Appointing a grievance officer residing in India.

He should acknowledge the complaint within 24 hours & resolve it within 15 days of its receipt.

Important provisions of the new IT rules 2021

• Publishing a monthly compliance report.
• Intermediaries shall remove or disable access within 24 hours of receipt of complaints of contents and resolve it within 15 days
• In cases specifically related to crimes against women, the obligation to resolve the complaint within 24 hours
• Set up an appellate committee that will have the power to overrule decisions taken by the company’s grievance cell in line with the laws of the country. Thereby it brings more accountability and transparency
• Set up a cyber-affiliate tribunal. The government is trying to create an open and safe internet for its citizens

Concept of safe harbour

A safe harbour is a legal provision that, provided certain requirements are satisfied, reduces or eliminates a party’s legal or regulatory obligation in specific circumstances. The phrase also describes strategies taken by businesses to stave off hostile takeovers. In case, due diligence is not followed by the intermediary, safe harbour provisions will not apply to them. Section 79 of IT ACT protects social media intermediaries by giving them immunity from legal prosecution for content posted on their platforms.

Let us say for example, if a Tweet, Facebook post, etc, violates local laws, the law enforcement agency would be well within its rights to book not only the person sharing the content but the executive of these companies as well.

Impact of social media

Before the new rules of 2021

• Major social media platforms have come under fire for how their sophisticated algorithms might steer users toward increasingly outré content.
• As social forums have evolved into locations for radical communities to organize and grow power online, these platforms are crucial to talks about online extremism.
• It is a difficult undertaking to search through the dark corners of the internet and put an end to the transmission of hateful narratives, though, as extremist groups continue to use fringe chatrooms and the “dark web” that emerges on social media.

After the new rules of 2021

The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021, which became effective on February 25 as part of Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, will require social media companies in India with sizable user bases to significantly change how they operate to comply with the new requirements from the Indian government.

• The new Intermediary Liability Rules require social media platforms with over 5 million users in India to not only permit the traceability of end-to-end encrypted conversations but also to set up local offices with senior employees to deal with law enforcement and user complaints.
• In addition to setting up automatic methods for content filtration and providing users with reasons if their accounts have been disabled, they also need to change their interface to easily identify confirmed users from others.
• The new act not only gives governments a way to regulate their businesses, that are generating revenue from users, from the country by having an establishment there and a grievance redressal mechanism but also, helps countries strengthen their national interests and cyber sovereignty with rules like the ones currently in place. This gives governments much more control over how the data of their citizens are handled.

Major issues faced after the implementation of new IT rules 2021

The tussle between Twitter and the Government of India

Due to non -compliance with the norms, Twitter has lost its status as an intermediary platform .it will be seen as a publisher of all content on the platform Twitter will be open to lawsuits and legal proceedings for content

Twitter has thus become the 1^st firm amongst the likes of Facebook, Google, Instagram, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, etc, to have lost its intermediary status other such firms have submitted their compliance report to the government. In response, Twitter appointed Dharmendra Chatter as the grievance officer.

His appointment was flagged by the ministry of electronics and IT as being non-compliant with norms of intermediary guidelines and the digital media ethics code since he is not on the payroll of the company. He then quit his post.

Whatsapp issue – traceability

• End-to-end encryption
• Under rule 4(2) required to trace the originator of a message or threat or post as may be required under a judicial order.
• Only for prevention, investigation, or punishment, etc of an offense relating to sovereignty, integrity, and secrecy of India, incitement to an offense, public order, relating to rape, sexually explicit material, or child abuse material punishable with imprisonment for not less than 5 years.

Right to privacy

The users’ basic right to privacy is violated by the traceability of content creators and content. The idea of a free and open internet is undercut by these rules.

Lack of legislative action

There was no formal legislative process. Just an executive action. They amended the IT Act without consulting the legislature or engaging in any kind of debate.

No consultation

Stakeholders weren’t consulted at all. Social media platforms and digital media firms were not taken into account. In the end, this results in an extension of executive authority.

Conclusion

The enactment of new IT rules, 2021 is a turning point that will transform the digital ecology in India. We communicate and access information through various digital platforms. our workplaces and social lives all require some form of competence in digital literacy. People must have some awareness of how to use technology. And also, should know how to communicate and navigate through various digital environments.

The main problem with these social media platforms is they do not consider themselves liable if any objectionable content is posted. These guidelines will help in holding these platforms accountable and ensures from prevention of any crimes. Indeed, these new rules will create some problems, but the major issue was these rules were introduced without public consideration. Therefore, the solution to an ongoing problem is to start afresh with the publication of a white paper.

In light of this, the new IT (Information Technology) Rules 2021 have both positive and negative effects. These regulations provide the government with yet another tool in its arsenal to employ law enforcement and other methods to pursue those who hold opinions that are opposed to its own.

This article has been submitted by Sarferaaz Khaan & Soundarya, students at School of Excellence in Law.