Report by Tanya Singh:
The Central Government on Thursday released a set of new guidelines to regulate social media, online streaming, and digital content platforms as it plans to introduce a change in legislation to assert more control over powerful Big Tech companies. Federal Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who briefed the media, said it was very important to regulate the behavior of Indian social media agencies. To this end, the government is calling for the establishment of a prompt grievance mechanism.
Here are the key takeaways from the briefing: Three-level grievance redressal mechanism: • A three-level grievance redressal mechanism has been established under the rules with two levels of self-regulation. • A three-level grievance redressal mechanism has been established under the rules with two levels of self-regulation. Level I comprises the publisher and level II comprises the Self Regulatory Body, while the third level is the oversight mechanism under the ministry of information and broadcasting. • The OTT platforms will need to employ a chief compliance officer, nodal contact person and a resident grievance officer under the new social media regulatory mechanism.
Disclose the first originator of mischievous tweet or message: • Social media platforms upon being asked either by a court order or a government authority will be required to disclose the first originator of mischievous tweet or message as the case may be. • This should be only in relation to sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the state, public order, relations with foreign states, or rape, sexually explicit content and the likes. • Self-classify content into five age based categories: All OTT platforms should self-classify its content into five categories based on age, namely: U (Universal), U/A 7+, U/A 13+, U/A 16+, and A (Adult). Platforms will 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’.