Only senior officials will be allowed to issue content takedown orders: Centre

The Union government will amend the 2021 Information Technology Rules to specify that orders to take down social media content can only be issued by senior officials at the Centre and state levels, The Hindu quoted Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw as saying on Wednesday.

The officials will also be required to give a “reasoned intimation whenever any such order is passed”, added Vaishnaw.

“The accountability of the government increases with this change,” the minister was quoted as having told reporters.

The amendments are yet to be notified and will specifically pertain to Rule 3(1)(d) of the Information Technology Rules, under which social media platforms are required to remove content upon receiving a court order or a government notification.

After the notification, all such orders will be reviewed monthly by an official not below the rank of secretary of the government, reported The Indian Express.

The orders will also be required to specify the legal basis and statutory provision, the nature of the unlawful act, and the specific link or other electronic location of the content that is to be removed, according to the newspaper.

The amendments are being brought after it was noticed that orders to take down content were also being issued by police officers at the rank of sub-inspectors and assistant sub-inspectors, an unidentified...

Read more

News