Government Could Bring Digital India Act to Stop Online Criminal Activities: Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar

Internet

Products You May Like

The government is working on a Digital India Act to incorporate new rules for stopping internet-aided circulation of illegal, criminal and child sexual abuse material, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar said on Friday.

Addressing a conference on ‘Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM)’, hosted by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) at the Vigyan Bhawan here, the minister of state for electronics and information technology, said this will make internet service providers (ISPs) and other intermediaries more accountable for hosting offensive content.

He said the existing Information Technology Act does not address the challenges of the present times. “Hence, the government formed the IT Rules, 2021, and amended it in 2022 to make intermediaries liable, and it is also proposing to bring a digital technology law,” Chandrashekhar said.

The minister said the government is committed to encouraging the use of internet by people as a tool for their empowerment but it also wants it to be safe and trusted. It is obligatory on the part of intermediaries being the service providers to remove illegal and criminal content, he said.

The government is working on a Digital India Act incorporating new rules for stopping internet-aided circulation of illegal, criminal and child sexual abuse material, and also cover online gaming, Chandrashekhar said.

He said the weight of the lobby for free expression and privacy cannot be a cow for criminality. “Even if a person is anonymous, the intermediaries have to disclose the originator of such content. The internet which was seen as a tool for the empowerment of the people morphed into an ecosystem that thrives on criminality and illegality, which is an all-time high now,” Chandrashekhar said.

However, he also said CSAM is a consequence of something happening outside the internet, which needs to be addressed under separate provisions of the law. 


Samsung’s Galaxy S23 series of smartphones was launched earlier this week and the South Korean firm’s high-end handsets have seen a few upgrades across all three models. What about the increase in pricing? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

For details of the latest launches and news from Samsung, Xiaomi, Realme, OnePlus, Oppo and other companies at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, visit our MWC 2023 hub.

Products You May Like

Articles You May Like

Nvidia’s Forecast Dampens AI Enthusiasm in Other Tech Stocks
Xiaomi 14T, Xiaomi 14T Pro Pricing and Key Specifications Leaked Ahead of Anticipated Debut
Dutch Regulator Fines Uber €290 Million for GDPR Violations in Data Transfers to U.S.
Oppo Find X8 Series Tipped to Offer an Extra Button for Quick Actions
French Authorities Charge Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in Probe Into Organised Crime on App

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *