JOIN USGovernment proposes new law to make social media firms accountable
The Indian government is mulling a new piece of legislation that would weaken the immunity provided to social media companies under the safe harbour rule, multiple reports have stated, quoting various sources.
The proposed law—aimed to increase social media platforms’ accountability for the content posted using their platforms and to improve data security—is expected to “replace the existing Information Technology Act and include aspects of the draft data privacy bill,” Livemint reported.
Safe Harbour rules, specified under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, protect social media firms from being held liable for any third-party information that has been made available on their platforms. Safe harbour rule provides legal immunity to the firms against any action by a third party that is deemed illegal or offensive by the government.
Plans for the new legislation comes just about a year after the central government implemented new Information Technology rules. According to the new IT regulations, news organisations and social media intermediaries are required to appoint a grievance redressal officer to whom any objections from any governmental administration could be submitted.
Twitter had initially objected to the new rules but eventually accepted it.
An official was quoted by the Livemint about the initiative behind the new law: “Safe harbour is an old construct. A lot has changed since the 1980s, when the concept was brought in, and the world is moving away from it. Everyone is moving towards accountability of social media (platforms).”
If the new law comes into existence, it could further strain the relationship between the government and social media intermediaries and could impact freedom of speech.
Alternatively, it may help clamp down the spread of misinformation and hate speech content that has risen over the past few years.