The central government has enforced strict rules to enforce accountability on social media and OTT platforms and deal with illegal and obscene content online. The IT Act and Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code, 2021 (IT Rules, 2021) provides penalties for various cyber crimes such as invasion of privacy (Section 66E), publication or transmission of obscene or sexually explicit content (Sections 67, 67A, 67B) and also allows arrest of a suspect and 7 empowers to arrest suspects persons to the police. under section 80.
The government said its policies aim to ensure an open, safe, trustworthy and responsible internet, especially for women and children.
“The government’s policy is aimed at ensuring an open, safe, trustworthy and responsible internet for its users, including women and children. The government is committed to ensuring that the internet in India is free from any form of illegal content or information, especially vulgar and obscene content,” the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said in a press release.
He added: “The IT Act and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Code of Conduct) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules, 2021) have together introduced a strict framework to deal with illegal and harmful content in the digital space.
It imposes clear obligations on intermediaries to ensure accountability.
It said that “if intermediaries fail to comply with the statutory obligations set out in the IT Rules 2021, they lose the exemption from third party information provided under section 79 of the IT Act. They are liable for follow-up action or prosecution as provided by any existing law.”
