Topics covered: Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber security; money-laundering and its prevention.
Amendments to the Information Technology (IT) Act
What to study?
For Prelims: Key features of the IT Act, amendments proposed.
For Mains: Significance and the need for amendments, concerns associated.
Context: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is in the process of amending the Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules, 2011, to make the social media platforms more responsive and accountable. The rules are being finalised.
The government had first released the draft for proposed amendments to the IT Act in December 2018, inviting public comments.
Background:
In December 2018, to crack down on spread of fake news and rumours circulated on online platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook and other online platforms, the central government has proposed stringent changes under the draft of Section 79 of the Information Technology (IT) that govern online content.
Implications:
The proposed amendments in the draft of the Information Technology [Intermediaries Guidelines (Amendment) Rules] 2018, Rule 3(9) is bound to force social media platforms like Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter to remain vigil and keep users on their toes before posting or sharing anything that is deemed as “unlawful information or content”.
The changes proposed by the central government is aimed at curbing fake news or rumours being spread on social media and check mob violence ahead.
What the new rules propose?
- The changes will require online platforms to break end-to-end encryption in order to ascertain the origin of messages.
- The social media platforms to “deploy technology based automated tools or appropriate mechanisms, with appropriate controls, for proactively identifying or removing or disabling access to unlawful information or content”.
- As per the amendment, the social media platforms will need to comply with the central government “within 72 hours” of a query.
- There should be a ‘Nodal person of Contact for 24X7 coordination with law enforcement agencies and officers to ensure compliance.
- The social media platforms will be keeping a vigil on “unlawful activity” for a period of “180 days”.
What necessitated this?
With concerns over “rising incidents of violence and lynching in the country due to misuse of social media platforms”, there is now need for online platforms to shoulder the “responsibility, accountability and larger commitment to ensure that its platform is not misused on a large scale to spread incorrect facts projected as news and designed to instigate people to commit crime”.
Criticisms:
The proposed changes have once again given rise to a debate on whether the government is intruding into the privacy of individuals, evoking sharp response from opposition parties. Similar apprehensions were raised with the Section 66A of the IT Act that enabled authorities to arrest users for posting content which was termed as offensive. However, the Supreme Court on March 24, 2015, struck down the law.
Need for stringent measures:
India has the second highest number of internet users in the world after China, an estimated 462.12 million. Among them, 258.27 million were likely to be social network users in the country in 2019.
Insta Link:
Prelims Link:
- Section 79 vs Section 66A of the IT Act.
- UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration.
- Digital signatures.
Mains Link:
India is planning to frame rules to regulate social media citing unimaginable disruption to democracy and the growing menace of fake news. In this context discuss what are the concerns raised by Social Media intermediaries? And suggest way forward.
Sources: the Hindu.
