Significant Social Media Intermediaries

Significant Social Media Intermediaries

Subject: Security

Context: Under Intermediary guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code 2021 has defined talked of “Significant Social Media Intermediaries” who needs to have additional due diligence.

Concept:

• Social media companies with more than 50 lakh registered users will be considered ‘significant social media intermediaries’ under the guidelines.

About the guidelines for Significant Social Media Intermediaries

• Additional due diligence by these, such as appointment of a chief compliance officer, a grievance and a resident grievance officer and a nodal person for round-the-clock co-ordination with law enforcement agencies
• The name and details of the grievance officer will have to be published on the website or the app as may be needed, the chief compliance officer, the resident grievance officer and the nodal person for co-ordination with law enforcement agencies will have to operate out of offices situated in India.
• These have to publish a monthly compliance report in which it will have to furnish details of the number of complaints it received during the month, number of links or content that it took down during the period, the action taken on the complaints received and whether it had proactively taken down any content that was illegal or unlawful
• The instant messaging platforms like WhatsApp has additional task of mandatorily identifying the “first originator of the information” if such an order is passed by a court of competent jurisdiction or by a government order passed under section 69 of the Information Technology (IT) Act (limited only for the purposes of “prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution or punishment of an offence related to the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, or public order).
• First originator tracking could also be done to prevent, detect, investigate or prosecute any messages in relation to “rape, sexually explicit material or child sexual abuse material.