IT rules draft: Feedback deadline pushed to April 29

NEW DELHI: The ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) on Friday extended the deadline for public feedback and comments on the latest amendments to the Information Technology Rules, 2021, by 15 days to 29 April following sustained demand by the industry and civil society groups to extend the consultations.

Draft amendments released last week had proposed bringing online user-generated news and current affairs content within the regulatory fold, alongside making advisories and guidelines mandatorily enforceable for internet intermediaries.

The move to potentially place content generated by online users under the same scrutiny and treatment as those in place for publishers has proven to be contentious. ET had reported that multiple digital rights organizations and civil society groups sought rescinding it in a stakeholder consultation held on Tuesday.


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The amendments had listed all intermediaries, and all news content hosted by them online under Part III of the IT rules which recognize entities to whom the code of ethics and procedure and safeguards in relation to digital media applies. As a result, user content generated may face the same scrutiny and treatment as those in place for publishers under the new provisions.

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Experts have pointed out it may also particularly impact content creators on social media or digital influencers both on online intermediaries like Google, as well as social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and X.