IT AMENDMENT RULES 2022: An Analysis of What’s Changed

Posted on by Tech Law Forum NALSAR

[This post is authored by Sohina Pawah, a second-year student at the NALSAR University of Law, who is also an Editor for the TLF]

INTRODUCTION

Back in June 2022, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (“MeitY”) had first released the proposed amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (“IT Rules 2021”) for public consultation. Recently, the MeitY notified the Amendments to Parts I and II of the IT Rules 2021 by introducing the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2022 (“IT Amendment Rules, 2022”). The IT Amendment Rules 2022 aim at the regulation of social media intermediaries by increasing the burden of their compliance, and ensuring that the safe harbours provided to them are not abused. On the whole, the Rules aim at strengthening the protective framework for the “netizens’ interests” by prioritising their fundamental rights under Articles 14,19, and 21 of the Indian Constitution.

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The Telecommunications Reforms: A Step towards a Surveillance State (Part I)

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[This is the first part of a two-part post analyzing the Draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022. It is authored by Intisar Aslam, a second-year student at National University of Study and Research in Law, Ranchi. The second part can be found here]

Recently, the Ministry of Communications released the Draft  Indian Telecommunications Bill, 2022 (“Draft Bill”), which seeks to bring sweeping reforms in the telecom sector of the country. The significance of the Bill has increased manifold due to its expansive nature and character, which seeks to include social media platforms and OTT communication services within the ambit of ‘telecommunication services.’ The Draft Bill aims to make up for the changing dynamics and advances in technology and telecom regulatory framework by consolidating the present archaic telecom legislations, namely, the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885; the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1833; and the Telegraph Wires (Unlawful) Possession Act, 1950. This article analyses the extensive powers granted to the government and its likelihood of misuse. It further argues how certain provisions are violative of the fundamental rights of individuals and lastly, the article discusses the unwarranted dissolution of powers of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

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A Comparative Analysis of Adtech Regulations in India Vis-a-Vis Adtech Laws in the UK

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This post is authored by Rupa Veena S and Julia Anna Joseph, 4th year BBALLB students at School of  Law, Christ University 

INTRODUCTION

Adtech is advertising technology used by businesses to attract potential consumers to their websites. Adtech tools are used to track consumer preferences which are used for marketing products to potential consumers digitally. The Adtech industry has witnessed tremendous growth from the onset of the pandemic when a large proportion of consumers engaged in online shopping. However, the privacy concerns of adtech cannot go unaddressed. In light of the same, this article discusses various practices in the adtech industry that involve violation of privacy. It also makes a comparative analysis between the laws dealing with data protection and privacy concerns arising out of adtech in the United Kingdom (UK) and India.

Practices in the Adtech industry that violate Privacy

The entire adtech ecosystem relies on the personal data of consumers to display ads based on their preferences. Programmatic advertising is the most commonly used adtech and is automated in nature. It is used to buy or sell advertising space. Real-time bidding (“RTB”) is the most widely used programmatic advertising tool. RTB is used by publishers to sell ad space to advertisers who bid the highest in an auction. While advertisers make use of demand-side platforms (“DSPs”) to bid on advertising space, publishers use supply-side platforms (“SSPs”) to sell their ad space. The price for the purchase of ad space is agreed upon in online marketplaces called ad exchanges where publishers and advertisers are connected through DSPs and SSPs. The price while bidding is determined by the consumer’s information available to the advertisers. Cookies and other similar technologies are used to collect consumers’ personal data. The price paid for using websites which are “free” is the personal information collected and used to display ads. Now, what remains questionable is whether consumers’ personal data is collected or processed with their consent or not.

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CERT-In Directions on Cybersecurity, 2022: For the Better or Worse?

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This post is authored by Raj Shekhar, a fourth-year student from National University of Study and Research in Law, Ranchi

The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (“CERT-In”), on 28th April 2022, issued new directions (“Directions 2022”) under the powers conferred to it by Section 70B(6) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (“IT Act”). The Directions 2022 have sought to improve cyber-security by incorporating stringent provisions ranging from breach reporting to data retention for security purposes. Owing to its status as the national agency for the upkeep of cyber security, as per provisions of Section 70B of the IT Act, the CERT-In is also empowered to call for information and give directions to any service provider, intermediary, data centre, body corporate and Government organisation (“Entities”). However, while the Directions 2022 have received applause from many cyber security experts owing to the expedited and stringent measures for blocking and identifying cyber security threats, there have been criticisms on grounds of privacy infringement, over-regulation, etc. as well. In light of the same, this article tries to evaluate the criticisms and analyse if the Direction are ushering us into a solely optimistic cybersecurity and data regime.

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Traversing the Contours of Safe Harbour: Comparison of India and US (Part II)

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This is the second part of a two-part post authored by Kavya Jha and Ananya Singh, fourth-year law students at RGNUL, Punjab. The first part can be found here.

In light of the ongoing attempts to provide intermediaries with the right degree of protection, this essay seeks to juxtapose the Indian approach to safe harbour protection with the American approach. It argues that both these jurisdictions have taken opposite but extreme approaches: while India has narrowed down the safe harbour protection from what was originally intended by the legislature, the American courts have interpreted the safe harbour provisions so expansively that an imbalance has been created in favour of the intermediaries. The essay, thus, recommends a balanced approach to providing safe harbour protection to intermediaries.

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Traversing the Contours of Safe Harbour: Comparison of India and US (Part I)

Posted on by Tech Law Forum NALSAR

This is the first part of a two-part post authored by Kavya Jha and Ananya Singh, fourth-year law students at RGNUL, Punjab. 

In light of the ongoing attempts to provide intermediaries with the right degree of protection, this essay seeks to juxtapose the Indian approach to safe harbour protection with the American approach. It argues that both these jurisdictions have taken opposite but extreme approaches: while India has narrowed down the safe harbour protection from what was originally intended by the legislature, the American courts have interpreted the safe harbour provisions so expansively that an imbalance has been created in favour of the intermediaries. The essay, thus, recommends a balanced approach to providing safe harbour protection to intermediaries.

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Policy Lessons for India from Europe’s Artificial Intelligence Act

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[Ed Note: The following post is part of the TLF Editorial Board Test 2021-22. It has been authored by Mehreen Mander, a fourth year student of NALSAR University of Law.]

Of late, the Government of India has been prioritizing the development, adoption and promotion of Artificial Intelligence. In 2018, substantial funding was allocated to the national program for artificial intelligence. Many Union Ministries are also making great leaps in the field of AI. In 2017, the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry set up an AI Task Force which, in its report, hailed the potential of AI to be a solution to many socio-economic problems across ten identified sectors. Furthermore, the Union Ministry of Electronic and Information Technology set up four committees to prepare a roadmap for the National Artificial Intelligence Programme.

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Regulating Real Money Games: Examining Alternatives to Prohibition (Part II)

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[This is the second part of a two-part post authored by Mitali Kshatriya, a fourth-year law student at RMLNLU, Lucknow. Part I can be found here]

In Part I, the article highlighted the incongruous legislative framework for regulating real money gaming sector followed by the possibility of introducing central laws for regulating the sector. In Part II, the article aims to highlight various regulatory measures which can be adopted to mitigate adverse effects of real money gaming without impeding the growth of the sector.

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