Minister in LS: Social media platforms required to remove ‘unlawful information’

New Delhi: Social media intermediaries are required to remove any “unlawful information” brought to their knowledge either through a court order or through a notice by an appropriate government or its authorised agency, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada said in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Prasada was replying to a question by Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, who asked the Government to provide ministry-wise details of the number of takedown notices submitted to social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Meta during the last three years.

He also asked the minister about the measures in place to review the outcomes and impacts of these takedown notices and the manner in which the Government ensures that such actions conform with constitutional protections of free speech and due process.

Prasada, in his reply, said the policies of the Government are aimed at ensuring a “safe, trusted and accountable Internet for its users while ensuring the Internet remains free from any form of unlawful content or information”.

He said under the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Government has notified the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (“IT Rules”), cast specific obligations on intermediaries, including social media intermediaries, to observe due diligence while discharging its duties.

He said the obligations of the social media intermediaries include the making of reasonable efforts “to cause its users not to host, display, upload, publish, transmit or store any information that knowingly or intentionally violates any law”.

“Further, intermediaries, including social media intermediaries, are also required to remove any unlawful information as and when brought to their knowledge either through a court order or through a notice by an appropriate government or its authorised agency,” he said.

The minister in his answer added that unlawful information includes information prohibited under any law for the time being in force in relation to the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order; decency or morality.

It also included information that could be contempt of court; defamation, incitement to an offence relating to the above, or any other prohibited under law.

“The notices for takedown of any such information on the intermediary platform are sent directly by the respective appropriate governments or their authorised agencies where the appropriate government can be both the state and Central government as per the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution,” he added.