Digital Media & Intermediary Liability

Overview

The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 — and the 2023 amendments — impose tiered compliance obligations on social media intermediaries, digital news publishers, and OTT platforms that are among the most demanding in the world for the digital sector. Significant social media intermediaries (SSMIs) with over 5 million registered users face mandatory appointment of compliance officers, nodal officers, and grievance officers; monthly compliance reporting; content takedown obligations within 24-36 hours of valid orders; and proactive monitoring obligations for specific categories of content. Corpus Juris Legal advises digital platforms, social media companies, digital news publishers, and OTT content providers on IT Rules 2021 compliance architecture — from officer appointment and policy drafting through to grievance redressal mechanism design and government order response protocols. We have advised platforms on the legal analysis of specific takedown orders, defending against orders that exceed statutory authority, and engaging with the Grievance Appellate Committee established under the 2023 Rules. For content liability, we advise on the conditions for safe harbour protection under Section 79 of the IT Act 2000, the actions that forfeit safe harbour, and the defence strategy when government or court takedown orders are disputed. For platforms with user-generated content, we design community guidelines, content moderation policies, and automated enforcement frameworks that are legally defensible under both the IT Rules and the constitutional free expression framework.

Key Service Components

• ◆IT Rules 2021 compliance programme for significant social media intermediaries
• ◆Compliance officer, nodal officer, and grievance officer appointment and policy drafting
• ◆Section 79 IT Act 2000 safe harbour compliance and protection advisory
• ◆Government content takedown order analysis and response
• ◆Grievance Appellate Committee proceedings representation
• ◆OTT platform certification and content code compliance under IT Rules 2021
• ◆Digital news publisher compliance with Part III of IT Rules 2021
• ◆Content moderation policy and community guidelines drafting
• ◆Defamation, IP infringement, and illegal content takedown management
• ◆High Court writ representation challenging unlawful blocking or takedown orders

Our Approach

We build IT Rules compliance systems that function operationally — not just policies that satisfy a compliance checklist. Every client receives a decision framework for responding to government orders that balances legal obligation with free expression principles and international human rights standards.

Other Technology, Data & Privacy Law Services