[Breaking] Delhi High Court to hear tomorrow challenge to new intermediary and digital media rules

A petition has been filed before the Delhi High Court challenging the vires of the newly notified Information Technology (Guidelines for intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (Foundation of Independent Journalism & Anr vs UOI). .Petition by Foundation of Independent Journalism will be heard on Tuesday by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jasmeet Singh..The Rules were notified by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology last month..The Rules regulate the functioning of online media portals and publishers, over-the-top (OTT platforms), and social media intermediaries..According to the Rules, a 'significant social media intermediary' has some additional obligations in comparison to other social media intermediaries..The Rules framed pursuant to the powers conferred by Section 79(2)(c) and Section 69A(2) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 provides for classification of films and other entertainment programmes, including web series, bring digital news platforms within the ambit of regulations covering print and electronic media and attempts to rein in social media intermediaries.The Rules define 'significant social media intermediary' as social media with users above the threshold notified by the Central government.The Rules mandate that social media intermediary should 'enable the identification of the first originator of the information on its computer, as "may be required by a judicial or or an order passed by the Competent authority" and such an order shall only be passed for the purposes of prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution or punishment of an offence related to the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, or public order.If has also been provided that the significant social media intermediary "shall have a physical contact address in India published on its website or mobile based Internet application or both, as the case may be, for the purposes of receiving the communication addressed to it.".The rules and regulations, privacy policy or user agreement of the intermediary should inform the user of computer resource not to host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, store, update or share any information that is inter alia, obscene, pornographic, paedophilic, threatens the unity, integrity, defence, security or Sovereignty of India, friendly relations with foreign States, or public order, or causes incitement to the commission of any cognizable offence or prevents investigation of any offence or is insulting any foreign States..The rules state that the OTT platforms, which have been regulating their content through various, would be self-classifying the content into five age based categories- U (Universal), U/A 7+, U/A 13+, U/A 16+, and A (Adult). The concerned online platforms would be required to implement parental locks for content classified as U/A 13+ or higher, and reliable age verification mechanisms for content classified as “A”..Also ReadSocial media, online news websites, OTT platforms under regulatory net: Information Technology Rules, 2021 notified