An Update On India's Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines And Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021

On February 25, 2021, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of India notified the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. The details of the Rules are available in our previous article here.

According to Rule 4(1), a "significant social media intermediary", i.e., a social media intermediary having more than 5 million registered users in India, within three months from the date of notification of the threshold thereof, has to establish a three-tier system for observing due diligence, comprising of a Chief Compliance Officer ("who shall be responsible for ensuring compliance with the Act and rules made thereunder and shall be liable in any proceedings relating to any relevant third-party information, data or communication link made available or hosted by that intermediary where he fails to ensure that such intermediary observes due diligence while discharging its duties under the Act and rules