The Modi government has clarified that the revised norms apply only to social media intermediaries such as Google, Meta, and Twitter
India’s federal Ministry Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has notified amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2023, which were initially proposed last June.
The revised norms have elicited angry responses from news organizations, who have expressed fears that the move is yet another bid to “muzzle the media.”
The administration of Narendra Modi, like its counterparts across the globe, is grappling with the raging issue of regulating social media intermediaries (SMIs).
In light of the emergent challenges because of the constant technological innovations that impact governance, the Modi government has introduced the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules, 2021), which replaced its decade-old regulations on SMI.
The government insists that compliance with the amended rules is mandatory to “ensure an open, safe and trusted internet.”
According to the Indian government, the amendments have three well-defined objectives.
First, netizens’ constitutional rights and interests should not be contravened by big tech platforms such as Google, Meta, Twitter etc.