New IT rules to address public’s grievances: I&B ministry

“The rules establish a soft touch co-regulatory architecture involving a Code of Ethics and a three-tier grievance redressal framework for publishers on digital media,” said I&B ministry joint secretary VikramSahay at a webinar on the Digital Media Ethics Code

Information and broadcasting ministry joint secretary Vikram Sahay has said the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines & Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, are aimed at addressing the grievances of the common man and keep the citizen at the heart of their redressal mechanism.

Representational Image. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

“The rules establish a soft touch co-regulatory architecture involving a Code of Ethics and a three-tier grievance redressal framework for publishers on digital media,” said Sahay at a webinar on the Digital Media Ethics Code on Tuesday.

He spoke about the provisions related to furnishing and disclosure of information by the digital media publishers and added the ministry has received responses from over 1,800 publishers.

The webinar was organised for the stakeholders in the northern Indian states and Union territories including digital news publishers, journalists, OTT platforms, and academia. It was part of a series of webinars on the rules. Webinars were earlier held for the southern, western, eastern, north-eastern, and central regions in June and July.

The rules were notified in February and have been challenged in high courts across the country.