Centre starts talks for new IT law, looks at stalking to social media

MONTHS AFTER its new rules for social media intermediaries under the IT Act of 2000 triggered a faceoff with tech giants Facebook and Twitter, the Centre has started a fresh round of consultations for a completely new IT law “to deal with present and future circumstances”, The Indian Express has learnt.

In February, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had released stringent rules under the existing IT Act for social media intermediaries, which was challenged by multiple stakeholders in different high courts. Both the Madras and the Bombay High Courts have stayed operation of key parts of the rules. The Bombay High Court observed that the new rules are “manifestly unreasonable and go beyond the IT Act, its aims and provisions”.