The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has notified the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. These rules cast specific due diligence obligations on intermediaries, including social media intermediaries.
The rules mandate that intermediaries should not host, store, or publish any information that violates any law in force. This was stated by Jitin Prasada, the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha. The intermediaries are required to ensure their accountability, which includes their swift action towards the removal of unlawful information categorized under the IT Rules, 2021, or based on grievances received against any information that is harmful to the child or encourages money laundering or gambling.
In addition to these measures, the Ministry of Education has issued an advisory for parents and teachers on overcoming the downsides of online gaming. The advisory warns that unrestricted and limitless online gaming can lead to serious gaming addiction, which is considered a gaming disorder.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has also issued an advisory to all private satellite television channels on ‘Advertisements on Online Games, Fantasy Sports, etc.’, advising all broadcasters to comply with the guidelines issued by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI). These measures are part of the government’s comprehensive approach to tackle the issue of online gaming addiction and its potential harms.
To provide a comprehensive and coordinated framework to deal with cybercrimes, the Ministry of Home Affairs has established the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C). The I4C has been instrumental in blocking over 3,000 URLs and 595 apps connected to cybercrimes since its inception in October 2018.
In a related development, the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) reported that cybercriminals had fraudulently withdrawn over Rs 10,300 crore from the country since April 1, 2021. However, authorities successfully prevented approximately Rs 1,127 crore from leaving the country. The I4C also reported a significant increase in cybercrime cases, with over 15.56 lakh cases reported in 2023, translating into 129 cybercrime cases reported per lakh population.
The government’s measures to curb online gaming addiction and cybercrimes have been met with some criticism. Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal criticized the Centre’s decision to appoint a fact-checker to track fake news and have them taken down, arguing that the government should not be the one to decide what is fake and what is not.
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