IT Rules 2021: Centre Seeks Compliance Status From Significant Social Media Intermediaries

The central government has written to significant social media companies seeking details of compliance with the new IT Rules pertaining to intermediaries and digital media as the compliance deadline ran out on Wednesday, news agency ANI reported.

If intermediaries, including significant social media platforms, do not comply with the Rules, they will lose the safe harbour protection as envisioned by Section 79 of the IT Act, Mishi Choudhary, technology lawyer and founder and legal director at Software Freedom Law Centre, said. Meaning, they will become liable for user generated content if that content violates the law, Choudhary said.

Whether there has been a non-compliance of the rules cannot be unilaterally determined by the government and it will be made through a legal process where a judge will make that determination, said Raman Chima, lawyer and Asia Pacific policy director at Access Now.

But it is correct to say, Raman said, there is an enhanced risk the companies face of losing their immunity as intermediaries and this risk also now extends to internet providers, telecom companies and digital news companies.

The Rules currently face a number of court challenges, including by digital news media organisations such as The Wire, The Quint, Live Law as well as messaging platforms such as Facebook-owned WhatsApp. While LiveLaw has secured a court order barring any coercive action against them, there is no interim order giving such protection across the board.

The petitions by The Wire and The Quint will come up for hearing in the Delhi High Court on Thursday. The date of hearing for WhatsApp's petition is not fixed yet.

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