GOVT WORKING ON SOPS ON NEW I-T GUIDELINES: CHANDRASEKHAR
NEW DELHI: Union minister of state for electronics and information technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Monday said the government is working on “guardrails”, or SOPS, to address “grey areas” for social media companies to comply with the new intermediary guidelines.
The industry has been seeking SOPS since the new guidelines came into effect on Feb 25. The controversial guidelines put in place a new mechanism for companies to regulate content and appoint compliance officers
Union minister of state for electronics and information technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Monday said the Centre is working on “guardrails”, or standard operating procedures (SOPS), to address “grey areas” for social media companies, such as Facebook and Twitter, to comply with the new intermediary guidelines.
“Around the IT guidelines and the IT Act, there are some grey areas. We will create guardrails and SOPS and release them to the public. The jurisprudence will evolve; cyberspace is an area that governments are coming to terms with,” Chandrasekhar said in an interview.
Stating that the internet initially began as an enabler of connectivity, the minister said: “But in 2021, the internet has both good and bad facets. The law will accordingly evolve and the ministry will create clarifications where necessary.”
Social media platforms and
industry bodies have been seeking SOPS from the government ever since the new guidelines came into effect on February 25. The guidelines, seen as controversial by the industry as well as activists, put in place a new mechanism for companies to regulate content, appoint officers who will be liable for compliance, and adopt features such as traceability of messages and voluntary user verification.
The SOPS are expected to clarify which all government bodies can ask social media firms to remove content — one issue that has been repeatedly raised.
Chandrasekhar said the Centre is committed to ensuring that the internet is open, safe and secure. “At the same time, the intermediaries that provide these services also have to be accountable. We don’t want any child or any woman or any person to feel unsafe...”
The minister highlighted that the new guidelines, which courted controversy for traceability requirements and takedown powers over news articles, were meant to ensure user safety. “As far as the issue of takedown is concerned, every sovereign government has the right to direct takedown of content that is illegal, wrong or can cause harm to users.”
The guidelines have been challenged by at least seven associations and activists representing digital new platforms and intermediaries.
Chandrasekhar also stressed that the right to free speech was guaranteed by the Constitution and no bureaucrat or minister could take it away. “On the issue of censorship, there is no cause for concern... The Constitution guarantees the rights. If people try to take it away, like the UPA did with section 66A, the courts will strike it down.”
His reference is to the now defunct section 66A of the IT Act. Section 66 (A), which prohibited the sending of information of a “grossly offensive” or “menacing” nature through computers and communication devices, has been used by several states to arrest people over posts that officials claimed were “seditious”,” communally sensitive” or abusive.most of these arrests were for posting controversial remarks or photos, while some were for sharing, commenting on or liking such posts. The section was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2015.
Drawing attention to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assertion that the internet should remain free of government interference, Chandrasekhar said: “We are concerned that some platforms use their own rules to scuttle free speech. That the government is censoring content is a narrative that is being peddled by some people.”