The Ministry of Information and Technology on Monday released a new set of guidelines to restrict hateful content spreading on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. The order asked Twitter and Facebook to assist in investigations or other cyber security-related incidents within 72 hours of a request.
In the order, the ministry said the platforms must remove content as early as possible, but not later than 36 hours, after the government’s order. The order further said if a post depicts an individual in any sexual act or conduct, then companies must disable or remove such content within a day of receiving a complaint.
With the new rules, India joins other various nations that are looking to regulate Big Tech firms. In India, Twitter recently partially complied with government orders to remove tweets over protests by farmers over the farm laws.
In case of non-compliance with rules and regulations, the intermediary should also inform users at least once in a year. The ministry has the right to terminate the access or usage rights of the users to the computer resource immediately or remove it in case of non-compliance.
The Ministry ordered the platforms to appoint a Chief Compliance Officer who shall be responsible for ensuring compliance with the Act and rules. A news report said that the rules will also give the government takedown powers of news and other web-based content.
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Read new rules in PDF below:
IT-Rules-2021-