EFF says new Indian rules on online content threaten the free and open internet

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which is a US-based non-profit digital rights group has termed the changes for the new IT rules for online intermediaries as "draconian." It notes that the new IT rules 2021 "threaten the idea of a free and open internet built on a bedrock of international human rights standards."

The new IT rules 2021 that look over OTT platforms, social media, and online news companies were brought into effect last month. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which is a US-based non-profit digital rights group has termed the changes for the new IT rules for online intermediaries as “draconian.” The report noted that the 2021 rules were fast-tracked without public or pre-legislative consultation. It further noted that the rules create new possibilities for government surveillance of citizens and restrict companies to moderate platforms at their discretion. “These rules threaten the idea of a free and open internet built on a bedrock of international human rights standards,” EFF in the report said. The EFF in the report has highlighted the IT rules 2021’s requirements for decryption of messaging apps, to find the originator of a message under serious crimes. If the originator is found outside of India, then to find him or her within the country. The report notes the key problem with the identification of the first originator of the information proposal, despite court limitations, is, “A technical mandate for companies to reengineer or re-design messaging services to comply with the government's demand to identify the originator of a message.”