More ministries may get powers
Currently, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is the only ministry that can order removal of emergency content and blocking of websites or platforms.
“We are considering this to ensure prompt action on content, for which the ministries concerned have domain experts and can better determine the illegality of the content or website that needs to be removed,” a senior government official said.
The move to extend these powers to other key ministries is likely to impact social media and internet intermediaries like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and X, as the number of blocking orders issued to them could increase significantly.
Currently, requests coming from other ministries, regulators or law enforcement agencies to remove content or block a website under Section 69(A) of the IT Act, 2000 must be routed through Meity, which then issues a formal notice to the intermediary or Internet service provider. An email sent to Meity remained unanswered at the time of publication.
The official said the proposal to expand the scope of Section 69(A) of the IT Act is currently being discussed by senior government officials from key ministries and other stakeholders, and a decision on the best way to bring in the amendment is likely to be taken soon.
Apart from these key ministries, the government may also widen the scope of the amendment to allow certain regulators to exercise these powers, with a strict threshold at which content can be removed, another official said. He said ministries and regulators would need to be “sensitive” to the “nature and necessity” of emergency blocking powers.
Apart from Section 69(A) of the IT Act, content removal notices can also be issued to social media and internet intermediaries under Section 79(3)(B) of the Act.
Under Section 69(A), the Central Government, or any other authorized officer in its behalf, may order the removal of any content or website if they consider that such action is “necessary or expedient” to prevent incitement to the sovereignty and integrity of India, the defense of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States or public order, or any cognizable offense relating to the above.
Intermediaries failing to comply with emergency blocking orders can be punished with imprisonment of up to seven years and fines to be determined by the courts.
On the other hand, content removal notices issued under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act can be issued by any ministry, regulator or law enforcement agency through the Home Ministry’s Sahayog portal. Intermediaries have a maximum of three hours to respond to such notices and remove the content.
In February this year, Meity had amended the Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 to reduce the response timeline for removing content for intermediaries from 24-36 hours to 3 hours.
The revised rules, which came into effect on February 20, require intermediaries to remove non-consensual intimate images from their platforms within two hours, instead of the 24-hour window previously provided. Similarly, objectionable and unlawful content is now mandatory to be removed within three hours of being flagged by the ministry or law enforcement agency.
