Keeping Big Tech in Check

Subject : Science & tech

Context : The White House recently convened a discussion involving experts and practitioners on the harms that tech platforms could cause.

Concept :

The United States has identified six key principles to keep their power in check.
The areas range from competition; privacy; youth mental health; misinformation and disinformation; illegal and abusive conduct, including sexual exploitation; and algorithmic discrimination and lack of transparency.
These principles are in line with global scepticism around the influence of social media platforms as countries around the world, including India, look to check the dominance of these platforms.
One of the key principles listed by the White House is to remove special protection available to social media platforms under Section 230 of the US’ Communications Decency Act (CDA). This section is similar to Section 79 of India’s Information Technology Act, 2000, (IT Act).
In February 2021, India also had notified extensive changes to its social media regulations in the form of the Information Technology Rules, 2021 (IT Rules) which placed significant due diligence requirements on large social media platforms

Rethinking of Immunity enjoyed by US law and Section 79 of IT Act

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act was passed in 1996 and provides legal immunity to internet companies for content that is shared on their websites. The act was first introduced to regulate pornography online. Section 230 is an amendment to the act, which holds users responsible for their comments and posts online.
According to the regulation, “No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.”
This means that online companies, including social media platforms, are not liable for the content shared on their website by its users. So if a user posts something illegal on the website, the company is protected from lawsuits.
Section 79 of the IT Act 2000 also makes a similar provision that “an intermediary shall not be liable for any third-party information, data, or communication link made available or hosted by him”.
Third party information means any information dealt with by a network service provider in his capacity as an intermediary.
This protects intermediaries such as Internet and data service providers and those hosting websites from being made liable for content that users may post or generate.

New IT rules 2021:

Firstly, It mandates all social media platforms to set up a grievances redressal and compliance mechanism. This includes appointing a resident grievance officer, chief compliance officer, and a nodal contact person.
Chief Compliance Officer shall be responsible for ensuring compliance with the Act and Rules.
Nodal Contact Person will do 24×7 coordination with law enforcement agencies.
Resident Grievance Officer shall receive and resolve complaints from users. The officer must acknowledge the complaint within 24 hours, and resolve it within 15 days of receipt.
Secondly, the platforms must submit monthly reports on complaints received from users and actions taken.
Thirdly, Further, the platforms providing the feature of instant messaging need to track the first originator of a message.
However, non-compliance with new rules would take away the protection granted to social media intermediaries under Section 79 of the IT Act.