IT Rules likely to be amended to curb fake news and defamation

The government is considering major amendments to the IT Rules 2021 to restrict obscene, defamatory or misleading digital content and introduce stricter content ratings and penalties for violations

The government is likely to amend the Information Technology (IT) Rules of 2021 to add provisions that ban the dissemination of digital content that contains “obscene, defamatory, deliberate, false, suggestive innuendos, or half-truths,” sources said. 

These amendments are likely to be made under Part 3 of the IT Rules. They have proposed that digital content should not contain anything that is against good taste or decency, derides any race, caste, colour, creed, or nationality, tends to incite people to commit crime, engage in violence or glorifies violence. 

Part 3 of the IT Rules covers content shown to users through digital video intermediaries such as YouTube and Instagram, as well as over-the-top (OTP) video sharing platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar and SonyLIV, among others. These rules also apply to the digital portals of news channels and newspapers. 

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), which is responsible for the operation of rules under part 3 of the IT Rules of 2021, is also likely to propose that any digital platform should not broadcast or host content that criticises or maligns any individual, group of individuals or segments of social, public or moral life of India. 

Digital content must not contain “visuals or words which reflect a slandering, ironical, and snobbish attitude in the portrayal of certain ethnic, linguistic, and regional groups”, according to a proposed provision, an official said. 

Apart from these requirements, the MIB is also likely to mandate that the punishment for contravention of these provisions be the same as the one mandate for the publishing and transmission of “obscene” material in electronic form.

 

Currently, this provision states that anyone found transmitting obscene material digitally shall be punished with either a jail term of three years or a fine of ₹5 lakh, or both, on the first instance of being caught and adjudged guilty by competent courts.

 

In the second instance, the rules extend the jail term to five years and the fine to ₹10 lakh or both.

 

The information and broadcasting ministry has further proposed that all content transmitted, published, or exhibited online, in any form, shall be classified according to the nature and type of content shown.

 

Akin to the television ratings for content, all digital content that is suitable for the viewing of children shall be classified in the “U” or universal category. Those for children above the age of 7 shall carry the “U/A 7+” rating. Similarly, digital content suitable for children aged 13 and above shall have a “U/A 13+” rating and symbol. Content ideal for children aged 16 and above shall carry a “U/A 16+” rating and symbol.

 

Any content provider broadcasting digital content for children aged 13 or older will also need to ensure greater parental control on its platform. This includes the option to allow guardians to lock such content to prevent it from being viewed by children, the MIB has proposed.

 

The MIB has finalised the rules for digital video intermediaries and OTT platforms. Similar regulations for digital content disseminated by users, which include bloggers, vloggers, and influencers, are under consideration by the government, one of the officials quoted above said.

 

“A separate set of rules for digital channels that work in the news and current affairs segment is also under deliberation,” the official said.