Compliance Mandates in IT Rules, 2021 Will Negatively Impact Ease-of-Doing-Business, Finds Report
India, July 5, 2022: More than 85% percent of intermediaries, surveyed during a recent study, feel that compliance mandates envisaged in Part II of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines & Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, introduced by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in February last year, would lead to overwhelming economic repercussions and negatively impact their ease-of-doing-business. This is one of the key findings of a report titled IT Rules, 2021: A Regulatory Impact Assessment Study, prepared collaboratively by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and The Dialogue, launched at a program here today.
Dr. Amar Patnaik, Member of Parliament, Dr. Aruna Sharma, Former Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & IT, Govt. of India, Mr. Rajat Garg, Founder, MyUpchar and Ms. Megha Bhatia, Founder, Our Voix (a child safety NGO), took part in a panel discussion held on the occasion. Speaking on the takedown timelines, prescribed in the IT Rules, 2021, Dr. Patnaik said, “Takedowns must be graded, cannot compare differing forms of harm and put them in the same (regulatory) basket.”
According to the study, the IT Rules, 2021, though intended to create a robust regime for tackling the modern-day challenges like the proliferation of disinformation, child sexual abuse material, and seditious and terrorism-related content, have raised questions around the legal and technical legitimacy and the viability of many of the provisions that they entail.
Industry stakeholders surveyed during the study expressed concerns over the infeasibility of originator traceability mandated in the Rules, the many ramifications imposing personal liability on chief compliance officers may have, and the impact due to diligence requirements will have on entry barriers and the ease of doing business. A majority of intermediaries and cybersecurity experts surveyed held that it was technically impossible to introduce traceability on end-to-end encrypted platforms without breaking the encryption technology itself.
In order to create a robust platform regulation regime that harmonizes the quests for an economic environment with the goals of national security and preservation of digital reports, the Study stressed the importance of engaging in meaningful dialogue and ensuring adequate responsiveness on part of all stakeholders. The Study recommended enabling a progressive intermediary liability regime, instilling procedural safeguards for assisting law enforcement agencies, and furthering a uniform and transparent content blocking regime.