New IT rules likely to impact ease of business in India, says report

What is the News?

Internet and Mobile Association of India(IAMAI) has released a report titled “IT Rules, 2021: A Regulatory Impact As­sessment Study”.

What is the purpose of the study?

The study assessed rules prescribed under the In­formation Technology (Inter­mediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Codes) Rules,2021.

What are the key observations made by the report?

Originator Traceability provision: This provision was “technically infeasible” as implementing it on end-to-end encrypted platforms would break the encryption technology itself. Hence, they have recommended the removal of this provision.

Threshold of SSMI: According to rules, intermediaries having 5 million users are considered as significant social media intermediaries(SSMI). The report observed that the figure is too minuscule for a country with a population of 1.3 billion.

Data Retention: Experts have highlighted the inconsistency of the data retention mandate. Hence, they have suggested a 90+90 days approach where the intermediaries might store data for the original 90 days and would retain it after that only if needed.

Content Takedown: The singular timeline for the takedown of all grades of harmful content is burdensome. Hence, the study has recommended the creation of a risk-based content gradation mechanism to provide specific timelines for different grades of harmful content

SOPs on information assistance requests by LEAs: The majority of respondents from all stakeholder groups mentioned the need for clear Standard Operating Procedures to delineate the process and format of information requests by law enforcement officials.

Source: The post is based on the article “New IT rules likely to impact ease of business in India, says report” published in Business Standard on 5th July 2022.