The Union government has issued a new warning to social media platforms and online intermediaries, urging them to take ‘stern and immediate action’ against all forms of obscene, unlawful materials hosted on their sites. The warning was issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on December 29.
As the government clearly stated, failure to act on this shift could invite legal repercussions, including prosecution under existing laws.
MeitY stated that this move is in response to repeated complaints from the public, various stakeholders, and the courts regarding internet content that appears to violate laws on decency and obscenity.
“In respect of certain specific instances brought to notice, the matter has also been referred to the appropriate law enforcement agencies for action in accordance with law,” said the Ministry, as reported by the Hindustan Times, cited by Mint.
The government has advised intermediaries to review their internal policies for compliance, content moderation policies, and user enforcement tools. Platforms have been warned to make sure that illegal sources like obscene, pornographic, and paedophilic content do not exist or get disseminated through them.
The advisory board further emphasized the need for organizations to methodically work towards deleting/removing/ceasing/ restricting access to illegal content as soon as they get an ‘actual knowledge’ of it. Moreover, the governing body called for strict compliance with the timeframes set out in the Information Technology Rules, 2021.
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MeitY further reminded platforms of the due diligence requirement as a precondition for invoking the exemption under Section 79 of the IT Act.
Any “non-compliance with the provisions of the IT Act and/or the IT Rules, 2021, may result in consequences, including prosecution under the IT Act, BNS, and other applicable criminal laws, against the intermediaries, platforms, and their users,” the advisory stated.
The warning has made it clear that failing to act on illegal content could result in the government forfeiting its protected status. Additionally, they warned of criminal prosecution for any platforms and users still showing defiance. The latest advisory reflects the Indian government’s sterner policies on handling online content.