Lok Sabha Question No. 2801 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-20
Subject: Obscenity on Social Media
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: D. M. Kathir Anand

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 2801

TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.12.2023

## OBSCENITY ON SOCIAL MEDIA

## 2801.   SHRI D.M. KATHIR ANAND:

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

(a) whether the Government has taken any steps to stop the prevalence and excess use of obscenity and vulgarity on social media networks and punish the perpetrators;

(b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;

(c)  the  stringent  steps  taken  by  the  Government to curb and stop the prevalence of obscenity and vulgarity in the name of web series on social media networks; and

(d) whether the Government has any plans to bring amendments to the original Act and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (d): The policies of the Government are aimed at ensuring that the Internet in India is Open, Safe & Trusted and Accountable to all  users.

The  Internet  technology  and  Internet  used  to  be  seen  as  force  for  good,  but  in  recent  years, technology is also exploited for causing user harms and criminality. The number of Internet users in India    are    85  crores  today  making  India  one  of  the  largest  connected  democracy  on  the  global Internet. The Government is fully committed to exploit the good of the technologies but is cognizant of  the  harms,  risks  and  the  growing  rate  of  criminalities.  The  Government  intends  to  ensure  the Internet in general and information on it is safe& trusted and takes suitable steps on an ongoing basis to tackle the bad actors.

To ensure that the intermediaries including the social media platforms are always accountable to the safety  &  trust  of  the  users,  the  Government  after  extensive  public  consultations  with  relevant stakeholders has laid down the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021('IT Rules, 2021') notified on 25.02.2021 and subsequently amended on 28.10.2022 and 6.4.2023 under Information Technology Act, 2000 ("IT Act').

The IT Rules, 2021 cast the following legal obligations, among others:

- (i) Rule 3(1)(b) of the IT Rules, 2021 prohibits eleven types of content on the Indian Internet available on the intermediary platform including social media platforms.
- (ii) Platforms are required to ensure that their users do not use their platforms for sharing or transmitting content that violates Rule 3(1)(b) and other laws and that their terms of use expressly restrict use of eleven types of content under the law.
- (iii) Rule  3(1)(b)(ii) of the IT Rules, 2021  prohibits any  information  that is  obscene, pornographic, paedophilic, invasive of another's privacy including bodily privacy, etc.
- (iv) Rule 3(1)(b)(v) and (vi) of the IT Rules, 2021 prohibits misinformation and patently false information  on  the  Indian  Internet  or  that  impersonates  another  person.Deepfakes  are another form of misinformation powered by Al.
- (v) Rule 3(1)(d) of the IT Rules, 2021 mandates  the platforms to ensure expeditious action, well within the timeframes stipulated under the IT Rules, 2021, to remove or disable access to  information/content  that  violates  the  aforesaid  provisions  of  the  IT  Rules,  2021,  upon

receipt of court orders or notification from the Appropriate Government or its authorised agency or on complaint made by the impersonated individual or person authorised by him in this behalf.

- (vi) Rule 4(2) of the IT Rules, 2021 prescribes that the significant social media intermediaries shall cooperate with Law  Enforcement  Agencies  (LEA)  for  prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution or punishment by enabling identification of the first originator of information  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 (CSAM).

The  IT  Rules,  2021cast  specific  legal  obligations  and  place  accountability  on  intermediaries, including  social  media  intermediaries  or  platforms,  to  ensure  that  they  are  accountable  for  their platforms to be safe & trusted and not carrying any content that is violative of rule 3(1)(b) including their  expeditious  action  towards  removal  of  the  prohibited  obscenity,  vulgarity,  misinformation, patently  false  information  and  deepfakes.  As  the  accountability  has  been  clearly  placed  upon  all intermediary platforms including social media and if any intermediary violates the IT Rules, 2021, they shall lose their safe harbour protection under section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 ('IT Act') and shall be liable for consequential action or prosecution as provided under any law for the time being in force including the IT Act and the Indian Penal Code.

The Government uses public consultations through Digital India Dialogue ('DID'), as an important way of engaging with all the stakeholders of the digital ecosystem to ascertain various views from time to time. Every law and every rule have been developed with public consultations.

The Government has also established Grievance Appellate Committees under the IT Rules, 2021 to allow  users  and  victims  to  appeal  online  on  www.gac.gov.in  against  decisions  taken  by  the Grievance Officers of intermediaries in case they are dissatisfied with the decision of the Grievance Officer in case of legal violations including obscenity, vulgarity, misinformation and deepfakes or where the Grievance Officers fails to redress the grievances from users or victims or an individual or any person on his behalf within the timelines prescribed under the IT Rules, 2021.

In  addition,  the  Ministry  of  Home  Affairs  operates  a  National  Cyber  Crime  Reporting  Portal (www.cybercrime.gov.in)  to  enable  citizens  to  report  complaints pertaining to all types of cybercrimes, and also operates a toll-free helpline (1930).

It  is  further  informed  that  sections  67,  67A  and  67B  of  the  IT  Act  penalise  for  publishing  or transmitting material that is obscene, containing sexually explicit act, etc., and depicting children in sexually  explicit  act,  etc.  in  electronic  form,  respectively.    Any  offence  under  section  67  is punishable  with  imprisonment  up  to  three  years  and  with  fine  up  to  five  lakh  rupees  on  first conviction and  five  years  and  with  fine  up  to  ten  lakh  rupees  on  subsequent  conviction  and  is  a cognizable offence, whereas, offences under sections 67A and 67B are punishable with imprisonment up to five years and with fine up to ten lakh rupees on first conviction and seven years and with fine up to ten lakh rupees on subsequent conviction and are cognizable offences.

Further, the Government exercises its lawful rights under section 69A of the IT Act, 2000 to direct platform to take down any anti-national content or any content violative of national security from time to time.

To help achieve  the  aim  at  ensuring  an  Open,  Safe  and  Trusted  and  Accountable  Internet  for  all Users,  the  Ministry  of  Electronics  and  Information  Technology  engages  with  and  receives  inputs from the public and stakeholders, including in respect of changes required to existing legislation and the need to introduce fresh legislation.

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