"All Media Platforms Must Have Same Justice System": Centre On New Digital Rules

The government today announced new rules to regulate digital content and establish what it called a "soft touch progressive institutional mechanism with level-playing field" featuring a Code of Ethics and a three-tier grievance redressal framework for news sites and OTT platforms. The rules will empower users of social media, said Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. The Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 prescribes, for the first time, how digital news organisations, social media platforms and OTT streaming services will be regulated by the government. The rules include a strict oversight mechanism involving several ministries and a code of ethics that bans content affecting "the sovereignty and integrity of India" and that which threatens national security.