Safe harbour for social media companies likely to become narrower

Digital India Bill may propose making them liable for content from non-verified users

As part of its work on the proposed Digital India Bill, the government is redrawing the contours of the ‘safe harbour’ provided to internet intermediaries including social media companies to increase their accountability for user-generated unlawful content, sources said.

Anonymity and non-traceability of users on online platforms will no longer exist after the enactment of the Digital India Bill becomes law and replaces India’s primary digital law, the Information Technology Act of 2000, a senior official said. According to the primary discussions, the government may propose provisions to make social media platforms liable for content posted by non-verified user accounts.