In February 2021, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology released the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (hereafter, ‘the Rules’). The Rules drastically altered the intermediary liability regime in India and superseded/replaced the Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules, 2011. The 2021 Rules are significantly broader than the Draft Intermediary Rules, 2018 as they regulate online intermediaries, as well as digital news organisations and OTT video streaming. The Rules are being criticised by civil society, policy organisations, and digital news organisations for, amongst other things, being overbroad and withering away digital freedoms including the freedom of expression and the right to privacy online. The Constitutionality of the...
Amendments to the Federal Law of 27 July 2006 No. 149-FZ “On information, information technologies and the protection of information”, under which the publication of fake news and information showing “blatant disrespect for the authorities in an indecent form” can be blocked, entered into force at the end of March 2019. Penalties for these infringements in the form of large fines and even administrative detention for up to 15 days were added to the Code of Administrative Offences at the same time. The author of the law, member of parliament Andrei Klishas, believes that “these laws protect human rights”. However, both experts and the public are already saying that these amendments constitute censorship, and rightly so. The new provisions outlaw so-called “fake news”, namely the spread of “information of public interest...
Five months after it was passed in Singapore Parliament, the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) came into effect on Wednesday, October 2. Also came online was the POFMA office, the administrative arm of this new law, which is affiliated with Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). Aiming to protect society from misinformation that harms public interests, falsehoods are defined as "statements of fact that are false or misleading" which are to be determined by the POFMA ministers, whom would then decide whether to issue editorial corrections or takedown orders coupled with fines and/or jail time. Civil rights groups, academics, and intermediaries have all voiced concerns as to POFMA's vague and broad languages and the inherent uncertainties of its future applications. Facing dissents that...
Date of Commencement: 2 October 2019 An Act to prevent the electronic communication in Singapore of false statements of fact, to suppress support for and counteract the effects of such communication, to safeguard against the use of online accounts for such communication and for information manipulation, to enable measures to be taken to enhance transparency of online political advertisements, and for related matters. Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows: PART 1 PRELIMINARY Short title and commencement 1. This Act is the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act 2019 and comes into operation on a date that the Minister appoints by notification in the Gazette. General interpretation 2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —...
This is a UK government White Paper, setting out the plans to provide for a major reform of the obligations of various online services towards illegal content and user safety. It is under consultation until the 1st of July 2019. The core of the new proposals is a novel, statutory duty of care, tied to tackling illegal content in an adequate and efficient manner, as well ensuring the safety of the service's users. This duty is to be placed on a wide category of entities - “companies that allow users to share or discover user-generated content or interact with each other online”. The exact content of the duty in question is not specified yet - this is to occur through a series of corresponding codes of practice. For now, the possible obligations include: operating specific notice & takedown procedures, with corresponding...