In a memorandum dated February 25, the government had announced the Information technology (Guidelines for intermediaries and codes of ethics of digital media) Rules 2021 according to the IT Act 2000.
Under the new rules, the provisions laid the groundwork for a Code of Ethics for digital news publishers, establishing a system for redressing complaints and the requirement for disclosure of information to Center.
According to the new rules, “Provision of information by publishers to the government and periodic disclosure of information on redress of grievances in the public domain.”
However, clarifying the provisions, the ministry letter dated March 3 cites that “the rules under Part III of the guidelines have not been delegated to state governments / district magistrates / police commissioners.”
The announcement comes a day after the Union government overturned a Manipur district magistrate’s order issued under the recently implemented guidelines.
Quick Edit: Manipur Incident Shows Why New Digital Media Rules Are Prone To Abuse
On March 2, Naorem Praveen, Deputy Commissioner of Imphal West, had delivered a notice to the editor / broker of “Khanasi Neinasi”, a weekly online debate of The Frontier Manipur (TFM).
The commissioner had directed the website to provide “all relevant documents to ensure compliance,” otherwise “steps deemed appropriate would be initiated without prior notice” under the new media rules.
The Manipur state government became the first state to initiate an action against a digital media portal within the scope of recently released digital media laws.
Following intervention by Union I&B Secretary Amit Khare, the notice issued by Imphal West DC was withdrawn.
.
