MeitY seeks ideas from public for making changes to the new IT regulations

The Ministry of Electronics, Information and Technology (MeitY) is seeking ideas from the public for changes to the recently implemented IT Regulations, 2021. 

According to the proposed amendments to the IT Regulations Act, by MeitY, intermediaries must conduct further due diligence and provide a grievance resolution system, as well as clearly display all policies and user privacy papers.

The guidelines further request that intermediaries disclose the name and contact information for the grievance officer on the app itself for users, ensure complaint acknowledgement, take action against nudity within 24 hours, and establish a grievance resolution commission. Besides, social media intermediaries have been requested to take further steps to ensure greater coordination.

The draft also proposes the employment of a chief compliance officer who will ensure that the Act is followed. There will also be a nodal official who will be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to coordinate with law enforcement agencies, and a resident official who will be based in India.

The role of the social media intermediaries will be to keep an eye on the originator of the first message, and significant social media intermediaries will need to implement mechanisms to combat explicit and violent content on their platforms.

The draft states that intermediaries publishing news and current affairs content must include a clear and concise statement informing publishers of news and current affairs content, terms of service for all users, and publish details of their user accounts on the intermediary’s services to the Ministry, as may be required under rule 18.

The draft goes on to clarify how non-significant intermediaries will be required to follow the guidelines if their publications transmit information in a way that poses a material risk of harm to India’s sovereignty and integrity, as well as the state’s security.