Why Centre’s new rule for digital media face legal test

Source- The Times of India

Synopsis:  There are few reasons that stakeholders are challenging the constitutional validity of  IT rule 2021

Introduction-

• More than 10 petitions have challenged the constitutional validity of the government’s Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

What are these rules, and to whom do they apply?

• The new rules are intended to create a level playing field for print, television and digital media. They also create a regulatory framework for digital media.
  • The rules mandate a three-tier oversight process for publishers of news and online curated content [OTT platform].
  • The tighter regulations for social media firms require them to remove any content flagged by authorities within 36 hours.
  • OTT platforms will also face stringent scrutiny and need to set up following–
    • Self-classify content into five major age-based categories.
    • Provide parental locks for mature content.
    • Reliable age verification mechanism for adult-only content.
    • Self-regulatory mechanism.

Why are the new rules being opposed?

• Social Media –
  • Against user privacy – WhatsApp filed a case in the Delhi HC. It challenged the new digital rules on grounds that the requirement for the company to provide access to encrypted messages will break privacy protections.
  • Twitter raised concern over criminal liabilities. Under the new IT rules, compliance officers can face criminal charges for content posted on their platforms.
• Digital news media-
  • There was no dialogue with digital news media platforms prior to the rules being announced. Digital news media is opposed to the restrictions since they were not consulted.
  • Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) in its petition states that new IT rules are imposing “arbitrary, vague, disproportionate and unreasonable” restrictions on digital news media and social media intermediaries.
• OTT Platform-
  • The government had been putting pressure on streaming firms to set up a self-regulatory mechanism. This has led to a split among OTT platforms, who have set up two self-regulatory bodies, the Digital Publishers Content Grievances Council (DPCGC) and the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF),
  • The OTT platform argues that they should have the freedom to decide on the composition and working of the self-regulatory mechanism.