Parliament panel seeks review of IT Act’s ‘safe harbour’, OTT watchdog

AParliament venire has recommended the ministry of electronics and info technology (MeitY) to critique the safe harbour protections uncommitted to intermediaries, the like social media companies who host user generated content, under the IT Act, especially where platforms fail to act on unlawful content. This is to strike a balance between their liability immunity and the need for greater accountability, said the committee.The recommendation was made in the 254th report of the parliamentary standing committee on home affairs, titled ‘Cyber Crime - Ramifications, Protection and Prevention,’ tabled in parliament on Wednesday.The ‘safe harbour’ protections, under Section 79 of the IT Act, exempts the intermediaries from liability for the actions of their users, as long as they adhere to guidelines prescribed by the government. The Committee urged MeitY, along with home and law ministries, to amend the IT Act to make social media platforms legally accountable if they ignore takedown orders. It suggested graded penalties, fines or even suspension for repeat violations, while ensuring due process and appeal rights to protect free speech.“The Committee has observed that certain social media intermediaries at times fail to cooperate with law enforcement agencies and legal provisions in promptly removing unlawful content, including morphed videos, fake profiles, misinformation and content promoting violence based on religion or caste, thereby potentially abetting criminal activities and undermining public order,” said the committee.This comes as X (formerly Twitter) awaits judgment in its case against the centre, challenging the government’s content takedown orders issued under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act and its use of the Sahyog Portal to issue content takedown notices. While Section 79 of the Act provides intermediaries with “safe harbour”, under part (3)(b), the intermediary can lose if it fails to remove the unlawful content after being notified by the government. The Sahyog portal enables the process of issuing takedown orders under Section 79(3)(b), which X says circumvents Section 69A of the IT Act, which has the necessary safeguards for intermediaries.On over-the-top (OTT) platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar, etc, the committee recommended setting up a panel of experts to review flagged content after release, frame cultural guidelines, and suggest penalties for violations. The house panel said these platforms, unlike films, face weak checks and minors remain exposed to harmful content. It also called for stronger age verification, better parental controls, and mandatory regional language content warnings on th eplatforms.This comes after the minister of information and broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw, recently revealed in Lok Sabha that the ministry had blocked 43 OTT platforms for obscene and objectionable content.The release of the report by the house panel also coincided with the passing of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill in Lok Sabha, which puts a ban on online money games. The committee in its report had recommended to the MeitY to create a dedicated online gaming ecosystem through broad consultations, one that tackles issues with real money and betting apps while also nurturing India’s multimedia, animation, and gaming industries.