India has replied to the United Nations that the new IT rules were consolidated by the government after broad consultations with various stakeholders, civil society, industry associations and organisations, after three special rapporteurs from the UN early this month raised concerns with certain parts of the legislation, and said that “due diligence obligations" placed on intermediaries may lead to "infringement of a wide range of human rights".
The Permanent Mission of India informed that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting undertook broad consultations in 2018 with various stakeholders, including individuals, civil society, industry association and organizations and invited public comments to prepare the draft Rules. Thereafter an interministerial meeting had discussed in detail the comments received in detail and, accordingly, the Rules were finalized.
"As a global leader in technology innovation, India has the potential to develop legislation that can place it at the forefront of efforts to protect digital rights. However, the substantially broadened scope of the rules is likely to do just the opposite," the joint letter by the UN Special Rapporteurs said.
Details
- Publication date
- 21 June 2021