Under the Information Technology Act 2008 an intermediary was
defined as any person who on behalf of another person stores or
transmits that message or provides any service with respect to that
message.
The Information Technology Amendment Act 2008 has clarified the
definition of intermediary by specifically including the Telecom
service providers, internet service providers, web-hosting service
providers in the definition of intermediaries. Further search
engines, online-payment sites, online auction sites, online market
places and cyber cafes are also included in the definition of
intermediary.
Before the Information Technology Amendment Act 2008 came into
force, the scenario in India was worse for intermediaries.
Intermediaries were liable for their users content. This led to the
arrest of Bazee.com chief Avinash Bajaj in connection with the sale
of the infamous DPS Noida MMS clip CD on the website. Post the
Bazee.com fiasco the Information Technology Laws have
