Lok Sabha Question No. 5590 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-04-06
Subject: Misleading e-Mails
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Keshari Devi Patel

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5590

TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.04.2022

## MISLEADING E-MAILS

## 5590. SHRIMATI KESHARI DEVI PATEL:

Will the Minister of Electronics and Information Technology be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  taken  steps  taken  to  check  misleading  e-mails/messages advertisements sent through various media and investigate into such matters alongwith the details thereof;
- (b)  the  action  taken  to  check  e-mails/messages  being  sent  these  days  regarding  lottery  of crores of rupees;
- (c) whether the Government proposes to further stringent the IT rules in order to restrict these misleading e-mails/messages and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d)  whether  any  mechanism  has  been  developed  to  trace  the  institutions  sending  these misleading e-mails/ messages and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAJEEV CHANDRASEKHAR)

(a) and  (b):Government  is  committed  to  have  an  Open,  Safe  &  Trusted  and  Accountable internet for the citizens of India. Under the provisions of Consumer Protection Act, 2019, a Central  Consumer  Protection  Authority  (CCPA)  has  been  established  in  2020  to  regulate matters, inter  alia ,  relating  to  false  or  misleading  advertisements  through  various  medium including digital platforms, which are prejudicial to the interests of public and consumers as a class. The CCPA can issue directions to the concerned trader or manufacturer or endorser or advertiser or publisher, as the case may be, to discontinue such advertisement or to modify the same. The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 also provides for imposition of penalty by the CCPA  on  a  manufacturer  or  endorser  or  publisher  and  imprisonment  and  penalty  by  a competent court on any manufacturer or service provider, who is found responsible for a false or misleading advertisement. CCPA also issues Safety Notices to alert and make consumers cautious.

Further, Department of Consumer Affairs runs an online portal namely 'Grievances Against Misleading Advertisements' (gama.gov.in), where consumers can lodge complaints relating to misleading advertisements on any media including the digital platforms.

(c) and (d): All online intermediaries (including email service providers), rendering services in India have to abide by the provisions of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 and Information  Technology  (Intermediary  Guidelines  and  Digital  Media  Ethics  Code)  Rules, 2021 ('IT Rules 2021'). As per these Rules, email service providers being intermediaries, are required to publish privacy policy and terms of use of their platform. They are required to inform their users not to host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, update or share any information that is harmful, objectionable, and unlawful in any way. They are also required to remove any unlawful content related to Article 19(2) of the Constitution of India or violative of any law, as and when brought to their knowledge either through a court order or through an order passed under section 69 of the IT Act .

In addition, the above said IT Rules mandates that a Significant Social Media Intermediary (SSMI) primarily providing messaging service are  required to identify  the first originator of the  information  for  the  purposes  of  prevention,  detection,  investigation,  prosecution  or punishment of an offence related to the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State,  friendly  relations  with  foreign  States,  or  public  order,  or  of  incitement  to  an  offence relating to the above or in relation with rape, sexually explicit material or child sexual abuse material, punishable with imprisonment for a term of not less than 5 years, on lawful notices from  authorised agencies or on the orders of the court.

Further,  'Police'  and  'Public  Order'  are  State  subjects  as  per  the  Seventh  Schedule  of  the Constitution  of  India.  States/UTs  are  primarily  responsible  for  the  prevention,  detection, investigation  and  prosecution  of  crimes  through  their  Law  Enforcement  Agencies  (LEAs). The Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) at Centre and States take appropriate legal action as per provisions of law and when appropriate.

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