A Brief Into The Information Technology (Guidelines For Intermediaries And Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021

Article by Vijay Pal Dalmia, Advocate, Supreme Court of India and Delhi High Court, Partner & Head of Intellectual Property Laws Division, Vaish Associates Advocates, India

Introduction

The Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules of 2021 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Rules') has been enacted by the Central Government under the powers conferred to it by Section 69A(2), 79(2)(c) and 87 of the Information Technology Act, with thorough coordination with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The formulation of these Rules is in response to the growing criticism against the government, while it recognizes the right to criticize and disagree as an essential element of democracy. It aims to provide a robust complaint mechanism for social media and OTT platform users to address their grievances, a mechanism earlier inexistent.