Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw urged social media companies to strengthen user safeguards, putting responsibility for addressing online harms on the platforms themselves.
PTI and The Hindu reported Friday that Vaishnaw cited risks to children and women, digital arrest scams and harmful online material. He also called for companies to be more open about their platform algorithms and to give users a direct channel for complaints. “Social media platforms must take proactive steps,” Vaishnaw said, according to PTI.
The Press Information Bureau said Vaishnaw launched the Semicon 2.0 Web Application Portal and announced 12 approved applicants under the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme at an event in New Delhi on Nov. 6. The government announcement covered semiconductor initiatives and did not announce a social media policy change.
Section 79 of India's Information Technology Act, 2000, gives intermediaries conditional protection from liability for information posted by third parties. The protection depends on meeting statutory conditions, including due diligence. Rule 7 of the current intermediary rules says the protection is unavailable if an intermediary fails to comply with those rules.
Intermediaries must name a grievance officer and explain how users can submit complaints. Officers must acknowledge complaints within 24 hours and resolve most cases within seven days. Specified complaints seeking removal of content have a 36-hour deadline. Significant social media intermediaries also face additional compliance and reporting duties.
PTI reported that Vaishnaw did not say whether the government was considering a change to Section 79; its account gave no proposal or timetable. PTI also reported that he described police or courts as the only recourse for people facing serious harm. The current rules separately require intermediaries to provide a grievance process.
