Policy Briefing — India Issues Intermediary and Digital Media Rules
India’s Information Technology Rules 2021 impose due diligence, traceability, and grievance redressal duties on social media intermediaries and digital news and OTT platforms.
On 25 Feb 2021 India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology published the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, creating expanded compliance requirements for intermediaries and online publishers.
- 25 Feb 2021 — Rules notified. Significant social media intermediaries must appoint local compliance officers, enable traceability, and remove unlawful content within 36 hours.
- 25 Feb 2021 — Code of Ethics. Digital news and OTT streaming platforms must follow a tiered self-regulatory framework with a grievance appellate committee overseen by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
- May 2021 — Compliance deadlines. Significant intermediaries received three months to implement personnel, reporting, and user redress processes or risk losing safe harbour protections.
Zeph Tech maps the rules to client moderation workflows, law-enforcement response SLAs, and transparency reporting programmes for India-facing services.