The laws governing intermediaries1 in India have been
changing constantly to adapt to the dynamic nature of the internet.
With an unimaginable amount of data being shared between users in a
matter of seconds, it is highly impossible for intermediaries to
effectively regulate it that is being exchanged over their
platforms. However, the law as it stands today is much more relaxed
and has taken several amendments to the Information Technology Act
("IT Act") and rules thereunder, as well
as judicial rulings to bring about relaxations in the liability of
intermediaries.
Earlier challenges faced by intermediaries
When the IT Act came into force in 2000, it only recognised
network service providers as intermediaries and thereby placed on
every other internet platform the burden of regulating content
stored or shared by third parties via their platform. The liability
of internet platforms was connected with every bit of content that
was stored or uploaded on their
