Synopsis
While the draft amendments unveiled on Monday do not categorise online users as publishers, the content generated by them may face the same scrutiny and treatment as those in place for publishers under the new provisions. The move may also particularly impact content creators on social media or digital influencers both on online intermediaries like Google, as well as social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and X, legal experts said.While the draft amendments unveiled on Monday do not categorise online users as publishers, the content generated by them may face the same scrutiny and treatment as those in place for publishers under the new provisions. The move may also particularly impact content creators on social media or digital influencers both on online intermediaries like Google, as well as social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and X, legal experts said.
Till now, Part III of the IT rules recognised publishers of 'news and current affairs content', and publishers of 'online curated content' as entities to whom the code of ethics and procedure and safeguards in relation to digital media applied. This has now been amended to list all intermediaries, and all news content hosted by them online. As a result, an existing inter-departmental government committee that has the power to block content by publishers may now have its mandate extended to news content put online by any user.
"In the past, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting's orders blocking news and current affairs content under Part III have been criticised as being overbroad and lacking transparency regarding the grounds for such action. The latest amendments will likely exacerbate these concerns and impact users and content creators' rights to free speech," said Meghna Bal, director and Shweta Venkatesan, fellow at technology policy think tank Esya Centre. The move signals tighter scrutiny of "news-like" content on social media, said Harsh Walia, partner at Khaitan & Co.
