Information Technology Act, 2000

• It is the primary law in India for matters related to cybercrime and e-commerce.
• Under this law, for any crime involving a computer or a network located in India, foreign nationals can also be charged.
• The law prescribes penalties for various cybercrimes and fraud through digital/electronic format.
• It also gives legal recognition to Digital Signatures
• It established a Cyber Appellate Tribunal to resolve disputes arising from this new law

IT Act – 2008 Amendments

• The IT Act, 2000 was amended in 2008. This amendment introduced the controversial Section 66A into the Act.
• Section 66A gave authorities the power to arrest anyone accused of posting content on social media that could be deemed ‘offensive’.
• The Supreme Court, however, in 2015, struck down this section of the IT Act saying it was unconstitutional as it violated Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. This was in the famous Shreya Singhal v Union of India case (2015).

Section 69A of IT Act 2000

• Section 69A empowers the authorities to intercept, monitor or decrypt any information generated, transmitted, received or stored in any computer resource if it is necessary or expedient to do so in the interest of the sovereignty or integrity of India, defense of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign states or public order or for preventing incitement to the commission of any cognizable offence or for investigation of any offence.
• It also empowers the government to BLOCK INTERNET SITES in the interests of the nation. The law also contained the procedural safeguards for blocking any site.
• When parties opposed to the section stated that this section violated the right to privacy, the Supreme Court contended that national security is above individual privacy. The apex court upheld the constitutional validity of the section.
• The recent banning of certain Chinese Apps was done citing provisions under Section 69A of the IT Act.
Note:- The Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 allows the government to tap phones. However, a 1996 SC judgement allows tapping of phones only during a ‘public emergency’. Section 69A of IT Act does not impose any public emergency restriction for the government.

Information Technology Intermediary Guidelines (Amendment) Rules, 2018

The Rules have been framed under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act. This section covers intermediary liability. 

• Section 79(2)(c) of the Act states that intermediaries must observe due diligence while discharging their duties, and also observe such other guidelines as prescribed by the Central Government. 
• An intermediary is a service that facilitates people to use the Internet, such as Internet Services Providers (ISPs), search engines and social media platforms.
• There are two categories of intermediaries:
• Conduits: Technical providers of internet access or transmission services.
• Hosts: Providers of content services (online platforms, storage services).

What do the Rules say?

• According to the 2018 Rules, social media intermediaries should publish rules and privacy policy to curb users from engaging in online material which is paedophilic, pornographic, hateful, racially and ethnically objectionable, invasive of privacy, etc.
• The 2018 Rules further provide that whenever an order is issued by the government agencies seeking information or assistance concerning cybersecurity, then the intermediaries must provide them the same within 72 hours.
• The Rules make it obligatory for online intermediaries to appoint a ‘Nodal person of Contact’ for 24X7 coordination with law enforcement agencies and officers to ensure compliance.
• The intermediaries are also required to deploy such technologies based on automated tools and appropriate mechanisms for the purpose of identifying or removing or disabling access to unlawful information.
• The changes will also require online platforms to break end-to-end encryption in order to ascertain the origin of messages.
• Online Intermediaries are required to remove or disable access to unlawful content within 24 hours. They should also preserve such records for a minimum period of 180 days for the purpose of investigations.

IT Rules, 2021

• The Rules aim to empower ordinary users of social media and OTT platforms with a mechanism for redressal and timely resolution of their grievance with the help of a Grievance Redressal Officer (GRO) who should be a resident in India.
• Safety measures: Special emphasis has been given to the protection of women and children from sexual offenses, fake news, and other misuses of social media.
• Source identification: Identification of the “first originator of the information” would be required in case of an offense related to the sovereignty and integrity of India.
• Appointment of Chief Compliance Offier: A Chief Compliance Officer, a resident of India, also needs to be appointed and that person shall be responsible for ensuring compliance with the Act and Rules.
• Complaint monitoring: A monthly compliance report mentioning the details of complaints received and action taken on the complaints would be necessary.
• Code of Ethics: The OTT platforms, online news, and digital media entities, on the other hand, would need to follow a Code of Ethics.
• Self-classification: OTT platforms would be called ‘publishers of online curated content’ under the new rules.
• They would have to self-classify the content into five categories based on age and use parental locks for age above 13 or higher. They also need to include age verification mechanisms for content classifi ed as ‘Adult’.

• Redressal mechanism: A three-level grievance redressal mechanism has been mandated. This includes the appointment of a GRO, self-regulatory bodies registered with the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) to look after the Code of Ethics, and a Charter for the selfregulating bodies formulated by MIB.