Proposed IT Amendment Rules 2022 — Putting The Interests Of Digital Indians First!

The past year was quite tumultuous for the social media giants and the Indian government with the coming into effect of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 ("IT Rules") in May 2021. Soon after enactment, the constitutional validity of many provisions of the IT Rules was challenged before the High Courts by various social media intermediaries. Several industry bodies had also sought clarifications from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) regarding the applicability and compliance of some of the provisions of these rules.

To plug the infirmities and gaps in the IT Rules and to ensure that the constitutional rights of Indian citizens are not contravened by any "big-tech" platforms, earlier this month, the MeitY published draft amendments to the IT Rules for public consultation and stakeholders' comments. Some of the key changes proposed by the draft amendments are discussed below: