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April, 2023
The 2023 Amendment mandates social media intermediaries and online gaming platforms to notify users against hosting content identified as false or misleading by a Central Government fact-check unit. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is authorized to designate such a unit, with the obligation for intermediaries to remove flagged content to preserve their liability protections under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000. The Amendment also designates an online game provider as an 'intermediary' within the framework of the IT Act, 2000, thereby establishing a distinct category termed 'Online Gaming Intermediary' (OGI). Rule 2(1)(qb) defines this term is defined as "any intermediary that facilitates user access to one or more online games". The Amendment imposes stringent compliance obligations on OGIs, particularly those offering Permissible Online Real Money games, which must be validated by a self-regulatory body designated by MeitY. These OGIs are required to adhere to various regulatory protocols, including user verification, transparency in game offerings, and maintaining a physical presence within India.
October, 2022
February, 2021
The Rules introduced new categories to regulate specific intermediaries, which include: social media intermediaries with less than 5 million registered Indian users; significant social media intermediaries with over 5 million users; publishers of news and current affairs, including news aggregators; and publishers of online curated content, including all streaming platforms and OTT services.
December, 2018
February, 2009
The definition of intermediary under section 2 (w) of this Amendment read as follows: "Intermediary" with respect to any particular electronic records, means any person who on behalf of another person receives, stores or transmits that record or provides any service with respect to that record and includes telecom service providers, network service providers, internet service providers, web hosting service providers, search engines, online payment sites, online-auction sites, online market places and cyber cafes.
December, 2004
A CD featuring an indecent video was listed for sale by an individual on the online auction platform bazee.com. Consequently, both the seller and the CEO of bazee.com, Mr. Avnish Bajaj, were apprehended and faced identical charges. The CEO of the platform was charged under Section 67 of the IT Act for an obscene video uploaded by a third party. This incident underscored the gap in legal frameworks, wherein an intermediary could be held liable for content it did not create, but only provided a platform to publish/circulate.
October, 2000
The original definition of intermediary under section 2 (w) of the Act read as follows: "intermediary", with respect to any particular electronic message, means any person who on behalf of another person receives, stores or transmits that message or provides any service with respect to that message. The original text of section 79 of the Act read as follows: "Section 79: Network service providers not to be liable in certain cases:- For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that no person providing any service as a network service provider shall be liable under this Act, rules or regulations made thereunder for any third party information or data made available by him if he proves that the offence or contravention was committed without his knowledge or that he had exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence or contravention.
