Kannada news portal Pratidhvani moves Karnataka High Court against IT Rules, 2021

Truth Pro Foundation India (TPFI), the non-profit company that runs independent Kannada news portal Pratidhvani, has moved the Karnataka High Court challenging the recently notified Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules) which seeks to regulate digital content in the country..The petition, however, clarified that the challenge is limited to the rules affecting the digital news portal and not with reference to publishers of online curated content..It submitted that the new IT Rules are ultra vires the parent Information Technology Act, as they seek to virtually legislate on the conduct of entities that do not come under the purview of the parent Act..“In the present case, though the parent act deals with electronic data/record, the object and purpose of the parent act, is primarily to provide for legal recognition of such electronic data/record, recognise means of electronic communication, authenticate and establish conditions in which electronic data/record could be considered as evidence, and to recognise offences committed through the use of computer resources. Therefore, the parent act does not recognise digital news media as a separate category of entity and does not seek to subject them or their content to any set of special regulations,” the petition said. .Further, it was contended that the new Rules travel beyond the specific enabling Sections and introduce new concepts and regulations. The IT Rules expand the scope of the parent Act even more by providing for a “code of ethics and a three-tier regulatory system” and administering a loose-ranging code of ethics that contains extremely wide and vague terms such as “half-truths”, “good taste” and “decency”..This apart, the impugned Rules attempt to proscribe content on the basis of vague and subjective grounds which the Supreme Court has already voided when it struck down Section 66-A of the parent Act in Shreya Singhal v. Union of India..The petitioner also noted that the IT Rules 2021 provide for an oversight mechanism for digital news portals, which includes setting up of an inter-departmental committee which has the power to hear grievances regarding compliance..However, as the Rules are framed under the parent Act, the former cannot set up an adjudicatory mechanism parallel to the courts of law. This is completely beyond the object and scope of the parent Act, the petitioner submitted..On these grounds, among others, the petitioners sought declaration that the new IT Rules with respect to its application to digital news portals are unconstitutional and ultra vires the Information Technology Act, 2000..The petition was filed through advocate Rakesh Bhatt..The IT Rules 2021, which were notified on February 25 this year, have come under heavy criticism for being too broad. A number of challenges have been filed across various High Courts in the country..The Delhi High Court recently ought a response from the Central government in the petition filed by The Quint challenging the Rules..The Kerala High Court recently granted temporary relief to LiveLaw in a petition challenging the Rules.