Safe harbour clause for platforms needs a revisit, says Ashwini Vaishnaw

The government on Saturday reiterated its stance to revisit the safe harbour clause for social media intermediaries such as X, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, etc, amid an increase in instances of misinformation and fake news over these platforms.

This assumes significance as currently under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, the platforms have the immunity against legal prosecution for content posted by users. However, in case of removal of safe harbour clause or changes in its contours, such platforms will themselves become directly accountable for the user content and won’t be able to enjoy legal immunity.