News body NBDA seeks journalistic exemption under digital data rules 
‘Ramayana’ producer Malhotra likens film to ‘Avatar’, ‘LOTR’, ‘Odyssey’ 
Bombay HC protects ‘Ramayana’ from piracy 
CEO Jassy says Prime Video gains profit; bullish on ad momentum 
JioStar Q2 revenue up 10.1% to Rs 6,806cr. despite weak ad environ 
Google brings AI Mode ads to India, 9 other markets 
‘The Traitors Telugu’ heads into finale with six players 
JD Majethia explores AI storytelling with ‘Tulsi Hai Na’ 
SLL’s ‘Something in the Rain’ gets Indian adaptation ‘Shayad Yahi Hai Pyaar’ 
Karisma Kapoor praises Nihal Tauro’s voice on ‘Indian Idol Legends Return’ 
Prime Video reveals top 10 movies, shows 
The Indian government on Friday said that there were 20 legal cases against the IT Rules 2021 pending in various high courts of the country, while five self-regulatory bodies (SRBs) for content regulation had registered with the authorities.
“There are 20 (twenty) cases in various High Courts challenging certain provisions of the IT Rules, 2021,” junior Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar said in Rajya Sabha (Upper House) Friday in reply to a question from a fellow parliamentarian on India’s digital regulations.
The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Codes) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules, 2021) were implemented May 2021 with an aim to regulate the digital realm, including social media and curated content streaming platforms.
The section on the Code of Ethics in the IT Rules, primarily meant to regulate online content, has three levels of self-regulation with the third level being a government oversight body.
Pointing out that Part II of the IT Rules mandates all intermediaries, including significant social media intermediaries (SSMIs), publish details of grievance officers on their platforms who can deal with public grievances, Chandrasekhar said, “As mandated in the said Rules, SSMIs provide details of grievances received and responded, as part of their compliance reports, published on a monthly basis on their website/mobile Apps. Government does not separately maintain the list of grievances received.”
Asked whether persons and entities designated to handle grievances at the three levels were in position, the Minister while replying in the affirmative, added, “At level-II of the grievance redressal mechanism, 5 (five) Self-Regulatory Bodies (SRBs) have been registered with MIB.”
At Level-III, the oversight mechanism of the government, which is an Inter-Departmental Committee (IDC), headed by an authorized officer and consisting of representatives of various ministries and domain experts, has been constituted, the Electronics and IT Minister said.
