IT Intermediary Guidelines 2021
Introduction:
- To combat political deepfakes, the central government intends to use the contentious Rule 4(2) of the 2021 Information Technology Intermediary Guidelines. According to the regulation, all major social media messaging platforms have to be able to identify who the “first originator of the information” is on their network.
Why was there a need for this?
- Misinformation and politics go hand in hand, and with elections quickly approaching, information can be exploited for political purposes.
- Artificial intelligence tools that are both sophisticated and easily accessible can be used to create a wide range of synthetic media, including realistic-looking deepfake photos, videos, and sounds from events that never happened.
How is the government attempting to address the misinformation issue?
- To combat political deepfakes, the government is considering implementing Rule 4(2) of the 2021 Information Technology Intermediary Guidelines.
- According to the regulation, all major social media messaging platforms have to be able to identify who the “first originator of the information” is on their network.
- The government may then use its authority to intercept, monitor, or decrypt data, or it may do so in accordance with a court order to make originator demands.
- The main focus of the provision is end-to-end encrypted platforms, such as WhatsApp.
IT (Digital Media Ethics Code and Intermediary Guidelines) Regulations, 2021
- The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology announced the regulations in February 2021.
- Prominently display the terms and conditions, privacy statement, and user agreement for anybody wishing to access or use its computer resources on its website (or mobile application, if applicable);
- The categories of content that users are prohibited from uploading or sharing have been updated by the regulations.
- Users should receive periodic (at least once a year) updates about any changes to the company’s policies, rules, and agreements, including privacy policies and user agreements.
Intermediary’s Grievance Redressal Mechanism:
- The Grievance Officer’s name and contact information must be prominently displayed on the intermediary’s website or mobile application.
- It must offer a way for users or victims to file complaints about violations of this rule’s provisions or any other issues relating to the computer resources it makes available.
- Within 24 hours of receiving the complaint, the Grievance Officer is required to acknowledge it and provide a resolution within 15 days.
Extra Care in Selecting a Notable Social Media Broker:
- Social media intermediaries are defined by the 2021 Rules as those who facilitate online connection between two or more users exclusively.
- Significant social media intermediaries are defined as intermediaries having more registered users than a certain notification threshold (SSMIs).
- The Chief Compliance Officer, to be appointed by SSMI, will be in charge of making sure the Act is followed.
- To ensure compliance with orders or requisitions made in line with laws or rules made thereunder, SSMI must designate a nodal contact person for 24 hour cooperation with law enforcement agencies and personnel.
Finding the Information’s Original Originator:
- An SSMI that specialises in messaging services (like WhatsApp) needs to make it possible to identify the original source of information posted on its platform within India.
Ensuring User Dignity and Safety on the Internet:
- Once intermediaries receive complaints about content that exposes someone’s private parts, depicts them in full or partial nudity, engages in sexual activity, or appears to be an impersonation (including morphing photographs), they are required to remove or limit access to the content within 24 hours.
- The person making the complaint may do it alone or on behalf of another person.
Control Mechanism:
- The Ministry of Broadcasting and Information will create a system of oversight.
- It will release a charter with codes of practise for self-regulatory organisations. An Inter-Departmental Committee will be established to hear grievances.
The objective of IT Intermediary Guidelines rule 4(2)
- According to Rule 4(2), the stated goals are to support the prevention and investigation of specific serious offences.
- This covers offences that carry a sentence of more than five years in jail, dangers to public order, state security, and Indian sovereignty.
Why is it contentious to utilise IT Intermediary Guidelines rule 4(2)?
- There is a lot of room for interpretation by the government and courts regarding the enumerated grounds. This is especially true when it comes to upholding “public order,” which is frequently called for in a number of contexts.
- A message’s “first originator” is ill-defined. Someone who, for example, copies and pastes an existing message rather than using the forwarding feature can start off as the original sender.
- Only when the origin logs of each message are kept up to date can a message be identified and traced. In an attempt to discourage and punish a small number of message users, the rule’s footprint will jeopardise their privacy.
- In summary, we are just a few steps away from allowing message tracing to spread widely in an attempt to maintain election integrity. Traceability is not only out of proportion, but is also unlikely to accomplish its goal. Government must abide by the proportionality principle established by the Supreme Court in the “Aadhar case.”
