The Bombay High Court suspended two sections of Rule 9 of the Information Technology Rules, 2021, citing “indeterminate and broad words” as prima facie violating the Constitution’s right to freedom of speech and going beyond the “substantive legislation of IT Act.” Petitioners are granted some temporary relief. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Girish S Kulkarni said that the ethos and values of the Constitution would be violated under this regime.”
“In a democracy, dissent is essential,” the High Court wrote in a 33-page interim decision. The Rules’ ambiguous and broad wording have a chilling impact on the right to freedom of speech and expression. As a result, the 2021 Rules are irrational and go beyond the IT Act’s goals and provisions.
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In essence, the IT Rules’ ‘Code of Ethics’ applied the Press Council of India’s Norms of Journalistic Conduct and the Cable TV Regulation Act 1995’s Programme Code to digital media. While the Press Council Act did not provide for anything more than warnings, admonishments, or censures, the Court found that the IT Act’s Code of Ethics is in the nature of required compliance. In consequence, this temporary ruling should be a relief for digital media publishers and content providers.
The rules announced in February and implemented in May, mandated all social media platforms to establish a grievance resolution and compliance system, including the appointment of a resident grievance officer, chief compliance officer, and nodal contact person. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has also requested that these platforms give monthly updates on customer complaints and the actions taken in response. A third criterion was that instant messaging programs provide features that allow users to track the message’s initial sender.
