New IT Rules: deadline to comply ends today; industry seeks extension

The industry has requested a re-think over a clause in the new rules which can lead to imposition of criminal liability upon the employees for non-compliance by intermediaries.

The three-month deadline for social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to comply with , even as at least five industry bodies, including CII and the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC), have asked the government for up to a one-year compliance window, particularly in the view of the pandemic. The industry has also raised concerns over potential unavailability of ‘safe harbour’ protection given to intermediaries under Section 79 of the IT Act, under the new rules. They have requested a re-think over a clause in the new rules which can lead to imposition of criminal liability upon the employees for non-compliance by intermediaries, asking for it to be dropped in the interest of ease of doing business. The Centre had on February 25 notified the , which make it mandatory for platforms such as WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram to aid in identifying “originator” of “unlawful” messages, while also requiring social media networks to take down such messages within a specific time frame, set up grievance redressal mechanism as well as assist government agencies in investigation. The ‘significant social media intermediary’ were given three months for compliance.