How Telegram CEO Pavel Durov’s arrest in France could possibly upend ‘safe harbour’ protection

Sub: Sci

Sec: Awareness in IT

Context:

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested by the French police and charged with multiple offences.
This has raised questions about the safe harbour provision given to social media platforms.

What are the Charges?

Telegram is alleged to have allowed illicit content linked to drug trafficking, child pornography, violent propaganda, and organised crime.
Durov himself is not charged with any of these offences, instead charges are on offences related to the app, of enabling users to facilitate illicit activities and for not cooperating with law enforcement.

Implications for social media platforms:

As of now, heads of technology companies have relatively little liability for the content on their platforms.
The arrest could pave way for stricter rules on social media responsibility.
This could also be seen as a warning to platforms that still does not moderate objectionable content.

Safe harbour rules:

The legal action against Durov violates the protection accorded to social media platforms across jurisdictions under a provision known as “safe harbour”.
Under this provision, since social media platforms cannot control at the first instance what users post, they should not be held legally liable for any objectionable content that they host, provided they are willing to take down such content when flagged by the government or courts.
Since social media platforms are generally understood to be crucial tools of free speech, safe harbour is viewed as a basic tenet of enabling freedom of expression on these platforms.
However, there have been attempts to dilute these rules, primarily by national governments that aim to exert pressure on social media companies over alleged failure to comply with takedown requests.

India’s position:

Section 79 of India’s Information Technology Act, 2000 classifies social media platforms as intermediaries and broadly shields them from legal action over third-party content, or those made by users.
Under The Information Technology Rules, 2021, social media companies with more than 5 million Indian users have to appoint a chief compliance officer who can be held criminally liable if the platform does not adhere to a takedown request, or violates other norms.
However, the government is reconsidering “safe harbour” protections under the new Digital India Bill.
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had issued notices to YouTube, Telegram, and X in 2023, asking them to remove all content related to child sexual abuse from their platforms.