Objectionable content will have to be answered, and a crackdown on social media companies

Priyanka Saurabh *

The central government has geared up to address a lot of criticism over the arbitrariness of people on social media. That is, till now the government has prepared a draft to crack down on the arbitrariness of posting anything on social media. The Central Government is preparing to form a committee to decide which posts are not in the interest of the country or society in whatever posts are being posted on social media.

Together with social media companies, the government will decide what kind of content to take up or which content to down. Especially such content which is not right for the country, social interest, or social harmony, will be cracked. Information related to the Terms and Privacy Policy must be provided. The proposed changes would also require intermediary companies to respect civil rights enshrined in the Indian Constitution. There will be a 72-hour system for the redressal of complaints.

Social media companies will no longer be able to arbitrarily in the name regulation of content. The Government of India has prepared a blueprint for a new system for this. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has notified the laws related to the Information Technology Amendment 2022. Under the new IT rules, it will be mandatory for other social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to comply with India's IT rules.

The accountability of all these social media platforms has been fixed. In today's era, social media is the biggest power in the world, so caution is necessary for its use. Social media is a big issue, so what will be the impact of the new IT rules on social media? The Central Government is preparing to form a committee to decide which posts are not in the interest of the country or society in whatever posts are being posted on social media.

Together with social media companies, the government will decide what kind of content to take up or which content to down. Especially such content which is not right for the country, social interest, or social harmony, will be cracked down.

According to the notification of the panel formation to crack down on social media companies, tech companies will have to provide information related to service rules and privacy policies on their website, mobile app, or both. The proposed changes would also require intermediary companies to respect civil rights enshrined in the Indian Constitution. There will be a 72-hour system for the redressal of complaints.

Action will have to be taken on any other complaint within 15 days so that the objectionable content does not go viral. It shall also be ensured that the person using his computer resource does not host, distribute, display, upload, publish or share any material that may belong to any other person.

But the user does not have the right to be abusive, obscene, child sexual abuse, violate the privacy of others, harass based on caste, color, or birth, induces hawala, or violates any law of the land Posts that are likely to harm India's unity, integrity, defense, security, sovereignty, foreign policy or relations, virus/spam spread material, false propaganda designed for economic gain and in which any person Or there seems to be a possibility of cheating, causing harm to the institution.

Social media platforms themselves do not assume responsibility if any objectionable content is shared. However, they often edit, promote and block content on their platform. One must keep in mind the fact that some platforms have around 500 million Indian users and reach even remote areas. Viewed from a positive angle, these guidelines will help in holding these platforms accountable for ensuring the prevention of any crime.

There is a need to expedite the passage of the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 to secure the right to privacy of citizens and make IT regulations serve their ultimate purpose. Since social media platforms cannot in the first instance control the content posted on their sites by users, these companies may—unless directed by the government or various courts—in any manner hosted on their platforms.

Agree to Remove Content - Not to be held legally liable for any objectionable content. While tech platforms can help us stay connected, create a vibrant marketplace of ideas, and open up new opportunities to market products and services, they can also divide us and the real world. can also cause serious damage.

A small number of influential Internet platforms "use their power to weed out market entrants, solicit rent, and collect intimate personal information for their benefit." These platforms are currently protected from being held liable and do not take adequate action to appropriately address issues such as child sexual abuse, cyberstalking, and the non-consensual distribution of intimate images of adults.

The solution to the ongoing criticism about these rules is to republish them. The guidelines are, ultimately, about the end users of the social media platform, with the subsequent enhancement of these rules depending on their implementation in the past. Ensuring the interests of the end-users should be a priority and there should not be any kind of rules and regulations that violate their fundamental rights.

Apart from this, there is a need to strictly follow law and order to curb false information, but there is also a need to ensure that the privacy of citizens is not compromised in any way.