Source: Scroll
Context: The Union government has issued a notice to Wikipedia questioning its status as an intermediary under the IT Act, citing complaints of biases and editorial control.
About Intermediary (as per the IT Act):
- Definition: Entities that store, receive, or transmit information created by third parties.
- Criteria: To qualify, they must not have editorial control over content and should not create content directly.
- Liability Shield: Intermediaries are not liable for third-party content hosted on their platforms.
- Due Diligence: They must ensure illegal content is not posted by users and adhere to the IT Rules.
- Penalization: If found failing to meet these standards, intermediaries’ risk being classified as publishers, which can expose them to criminal liabilities.
About Publisher (as per the IT Act):
- Definition: Entities that produce, edit, or publish original content.
- Criteria: Publishers have control over what content appears on their platforms and are involved in content creation.
- Liability: Publishers are fully responsible for all content and are open to legal actions based on that content.
- Due Diligence: Publishers must comply with regulations but are directly liable for any defamatory, inaccurate, or unlawful content.
- Penalization: They face criminal penalties for content violations, such as defamation or misinformation, since they hold editorial authority.
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