New Rules For Digital Media: Taming A Wild Horse?

The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 ("New Rules") were notified by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on 25th February 2021. Part III of the New Rules introduce provisions for the regulation of digital media along with a code of ethics. This article analyses the impact of Part III of the New Rules. In the first article of a two-part series, we analysed Part II of the New Rules.¹

Overview of Part III of the New Rules

Part III of the New Rules, for the first time, expands the net of the Information Technology Act, 2000 ("IT Act") to govern "publishers of news and current affairs content" and "publishers of online curated content" (collectively referred to as "Publishers"). Publishers will comprise those that operate within India and those who engage in systematic business activity in India.