IndiaIntermediary Due Diligence: Misinformation and Government Fact Check Unit Words (rule 3(1)(b)(v), Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Rules, 2021)
Rule 3(1)(b)(v) Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (G.S.R. 139(E), ), as substituted by G.S.R. 794(E) of and amended by G.S.R. 275(E) of
In force since .
An intermediary liability rule binding public and private bodies.
As of .
What it requires
- Make reasonable efforts, by yourself and by causing your users, not to host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, store, update or share information that deceives or misleads the addressee about the origin of the message or that knowingly and intentionally communicates any misinformation or information which is patently false and untrue or misleading in nature, as rule 3(1)(b)(v) requires, because an intermediary that fails to observe the Rules loses the section 79(1) exemption under rule 7.
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
What this law does
An intermediary must make reasonable efforts, by itself and by causing the users of its computer resource, not to host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, store, update or share the information that rule 3(1)(b) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 lists.
Clause (v) of that sub-rule lists information that deceives or misleads the addressee about the origin of the message or knowingly and intentionally communicates any misinformation or information which is patently false and untrue or misleading in nature.
A 2023 amendment added to clause (v) information that, in respect of any business of the Central Government, is identified as fake or false or misleading by such fact check unit of the Central Government as the Ministry may specify by notification in the Official Gazette. Those words were inserted by a notification dated .
In an opinion delivered on in Kunal Kamra v. Union of India, the third judge of the Bombay High Court concluded that rule 3(1)(b)(v) as amended in 2023 is liable to be struck down.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app operates a social platform.