Government reminds OTT platforms and social media of their legal duties under IT Rules

The rules haven’t changed, but the government wants everyone to remember they exist. In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, the ministry of information and broadcasting has reiterated that OTT platforms and social media intermediaries remain firmly bound by the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

Part III of the rules governs publishers of online curated content, the OTT platforms, requiring them to steer well clear of any content barred by law. Part II, meanwhile, targets intermediaries hosting user-generated content, including social media platforms, placing due diligence obligations squarely on their shoulders. The mandate: make reasonable efforts, both directly and by nudging users, to ensure no unlawful information gets displayed, uploaded, hosted, stored, transmitted or published on their platforms.

The clarification came from L Murugan, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs, responding to an unstarred question raised by Rajeev Kumar in the upper house.

The message is simple and unambiguous: the legal guardrails around digital content have been in place since 2021, and platforms operating in India are expected to know them, and follow them, to the letter.