Context:

The Supreme Court has said that the central government’s recently notified OTT Rules “do not have teeth” and asked them to consider legislation that could also provide for “prosecution”.

The new rules

• These rules, known as Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, pertain to
• OTT platforms like Netfl ix and Amazon
• Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp
• Digital news media organizations like TheHindu, ThePrint
• The new rules mandated a three-tier regulation mechanism for OTT platforms, who were asked to self-classify their content into various categories based on age suitability.
• Centre had proposed an oversight and grievance redressal mechanism while indicating that a body headed by a retired judge may also be a way ahead.

Key-highlights of the rules:

• Guidelines Related to Social Media.

Administered by: Ministry of Electronics and IT

• Due diligence must be followed by intermediaries, including social media intermediaries. In case, due diligence is not followed, safe harbor provisions will not apply to them.
• Empower the users by mandating the intermediaries, including social media intermediaries, to establish a grievance redressal mechanism for receiving resolving complaints from the users or victims. Intermediaries shall remove or disable access within 24 hours of receipt of complaints of contents that exposes the private areas of individuals, or is in the nature of impersonation including morphed images etc
• The Rules make a distinction between social media intermediaries and significant social media intermediaries. This distinction is based on the number of users on the social media platform. The government is empowered to notify the threshold of the user base.

Digital Media Ethics Code Relating to Digital Media and OTT Platforms

Administered by: Ministry of Information and Broadcasting

• The OTT platforms would self-classify the content into five age-based categories- U (Universal), U/A 7+, U/A 13+, U/A 16+, and A (Adult)
• Platforms would be required to implement parental locks for content classified as U/A 13+ or higher, and reliable age verification mechanisms for content classified as “A”
• Publishers of news on digital media would be required to observe Norms of Journalistic Conduct of the Press Council of India and the Programme Code under the Cable Television Networks Regulation Act thereby providing a level playing field between the offline (Print, TV) and digital media.
• A three-level grievance redressal mechanism has been established under the rules with different levels of self-regulation.
  • Level-I: Self-regulation by the publishers;
  • Level-II: Self-regulation by the self-regulating bodies of the publishers;
  • Level-III: Oversight mechanism by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Points made by SC

• IT intermediary rules and other guidelines to regulate social media and OTT platforms lack “teeth” as they don’t allow pre-screening of content or have a provision to prosecute violators.
• The uncontrolled viewing of content on OTT platforms was an issue.