NEW DELHI: The government will ban any online games or websites promoting betting as well as advertisements promoting such games. The ban is part of the amendments in the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, notified by the government on Monday.
The amendments provide for multiple self-regulatory organisations (SRO), which will decide on permissibility of online games based on the framework. The new rules mandate that there will be no surrogate advertising by firms that promote betting online.
IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar stressed on the need for KYC (Know Your Customer) to ensure that no money laundering is involved through online gaming. “The online gaming space is a multi-billion-dollar opportunity for Indian startups and young Indians all over the country. Therefore, our whole objective is to regulate one small sliver of it,” the minister said.
The newly amended IT intermediaries’ rules mandate institution of an entity that will flag ‘false’ or ‘untrue’ or ‘misleading’ information about the central government posted online. The provision of such an entity is part of the amendments to the IT Rules, 2021, that was notified on Thursday.
While speaking about the amendment, IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the purpose of the rule is to tighten a noose of intermediaries like Facebook, Twitter or any other online portals as they enjoy safe haven protection under the IT Act 2000.
As per the new law, if a government agency or government information is misrepresented on any online platform, the fact checking unit will flag it. “After flagging, it is for intermediates to decide whether they want to take it down or not, just like in the original rules in October 2022. There is no firm obligation on the intermediate to take down the content but if it refuses to do so they will lose their safe harbor. And they will have to deal with the court of law,” said the minister.
Govt notifies entity to flag ‘fake news’
The newly amended IT intermediaries’ rules mandate institution of an entity that will flag ‘false’ or ‘untrue’ or ‘misleading’ information about the central government posted online. IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the purpose of the rule is to tighten noose of intermediaries like Facebook, Twitter or any other online portals as they enjoy safe haven protection under the IT Act 2000