Govt Announces Revised IT Rules For Open, Safe, and Accountable Internet

GG News Bureau

New Delhi, 7th April. The Ministry of Electronics and IT has notified amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, related to online gaming and the spread of false and misleading information about government business, reaffirming its commitment to protecting the safety and trust of digital citizens.

The aim of these amendments was to require greater due diligence from online gaming and social media intermediaries, according to a ministry release issued Thursday evening.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, elaborated on the new rules during a press conference, saying, “Online gaming is certainly a huge opportunity for India and Young Indians. We see the Indian online gaming ecosystem to expand and grow into a multi-billion dollar industry and be an important catalyst to India’s One trillion-dollar Digital economy goal by 2025-26, with very clear restrictions on online wagering and betting.”

According to the amended rules, intermediaries must make a reasonable effort not to host, publish, or share any online game that can cause harm to the user or that has not been verified as a permissible online game by an online gaming self-regulatory body/bodies designated by the central government.

The intermediary must also ensure that no prohibited advertisement, surrogate advertisement, or promotion of an online game is hosted on its platform.

The amended rules also impose additional obligations on online gaming intermediaries in relation to real-money online games.

Furthermore, the amended rules now require intermediaries not to publish, share, or host fake, false, or misleading information about any Central Government business.

The central government’s notified Fact Check Unit will identify the fake, false, or misleading information.

These amendments have been drafted after holding widespread consultations with multiple stakeholders including parents, school teachers, academics, students, gamers and gaming industry associations, and child rights bodies, the release said.