Supreme Court Says India’s Digital Media Guidelines ‘Lack Teeth’, & More

SUMMARY

The Supreme Court, on Friday, granted interim protection from arrest to Amazon Prime Video’s India head Aparna Purohit, in relation to an FIR lodged against her by Uttar Pradesh Police for promoting religious enmity

Commenting on the new guidelines, Justice Bhushan said that the rules “lack teeth” as there is no provision for prosecution or fine

Facebook is planning to mount a legal challenge to the new guidelines, with its core argument being that the implementation of the new rules would jeopardise its users’ fundamental right to privacy

While most have been alarmed about the government expanding the scope of its powers to censor online content with the new guidelines for digital media intermediaries, a Supreme Court judge said this week that the guidelines don’t do enough to keep a check on ‘pornographic’ content.

During the hearing, the apex court observed the need for regulation of OTT content. “A balance has to be struck as some OTT platforms are also showing pornographic materials on their platforms,” the bench, comprising Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice R Subhash Reddy, said.

Commenting on the new guidelines, Justice Bhushan said that the rules “lack teeth” as there is no provision for prosecution or fine. Without legislation, there cannot be an effective control, Justice Bhushan remarked.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing on behalf of the Union of India, said the rules attempt to strike a balance between “no-censorship and internal self-regulation”. He also agreed to submit a better draft of the rules for the court’s consideration.

Meanwhile, a source told Inc42 that Facebook is planning to mount a legal challenge to the new guidelines, with its core argument being that the implementation of the new rules would jeopardise its users’ fundamental right to privacy.

According to sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the social media giant is going to challenge the section of the recently released guidelines that requires social media platforms to identify — upon receiving orders from a court or the government — the ‘first originator’ of information, which the government feels could jeopardise the sovereignty and integrity of India, or includes sexually explicit or child sexual abuse material. This section, according to the source, will require the company to remove the end-to-end (E2E) encryption for chats.

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