NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member Abhishek Banerjee has written to Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday that the reply from the minister of electronics and information technology to his written questions in the House, on the “Takedown notices submitted to social media platforms” was “not satisfactory.”
By writing to the Speaker Banerjee followed House rules by which a member can write to the Speaker if the member is not satisfied with the answers from the government to questions raised on specific subjects.
Banerjee had wanted to know from the government about (a) the number of takedown notices submitted by various ministries to social media platforms i.e. X (formerly Twitter) and Meta during the last three years, Ministry-wise; (b) whether the government has a comprehensive list of these takedown notices, specifying for each the date of submission, the underlying reasons (such as hate speech, misinformation, defamation etc.); (c) the measures in place to review the outcomes and impacts of these takedown notices; and (d) the manner in which the government ensures that such actions conform with constitutional protections of free speech and due process?
Without providing for specific answers to the questions, minister of state for electronics and information technology, Jitin Prasada told the Lok Sabha in a written reply that, “notices for takedown of any such information on the intermediary platform are sent directly by the respective appropriate governments or their authorised agencies where appropriate government can be both the State and Central Government as per the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution.”
Prasada elaborated on the policy of the government saying, “The policies of the government are aimed at ensuring a safe, trusted and accountable Internet for its users while ensuring the Internet remains free from any form of unlawful content or information. To help achieve this aim, the Central Government, in exercise of its powers under IT Act, 2000, has notified the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (“IT Rules”). These rules cast specific obligations on intermediaries, including social media intermediaries, to observe due diligence while discharging its duties. Failure to comply with the obligations results in the loss of exemption from liability for any third-party information, data, or communication link made available by them, and are liable for the same as per law… Such obligations include the making of reasonable efforts by the intermediary to cause its users not to host, display, upload, publish, transmit or store any information that knowingly or intentionally violates any law. Further, intermediaries, including social media intermediaries, are also required to remove any unlawful information as and when brought to their knowledge either through a court order or through a notice by an appropriate government or its authorized agency. Such unlawful information includes information prohibited under any law for the time being in force in relation to the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India; security of the State; friendly relations with foreign States; public order; decency or morality; in relation to contempt of court; defamation; incitement to an offence relating to the above, or any information which is prohibited under any law for the time being in force.”
