Notice to Social Media Platform ‘X’: Regulation of Social Media in India

• The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has issued a notice to social media platform ‘X’.
• The notice concerns misuse of its AI tool ‘Grok’ to generate obscene, indecent, and sexually explicit synthetic images and videos of women and children.
  • Synthetic images/videos refer to AI-generated content that mimics real individuals or scenarios.

Issues Flagged by the Government

• The government flagged non-compliance with Indian IT laws.
• Non-compliance includes failure to meet due-diligence obligations under the IT Act, 2000 and IT Rules, 2021.
• The government also highlighted violation of privacy and dignity.
• AI-generated content undermines women’s privacy, dignity, and safety.

Regulation of Social Media in India

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 provides the primary legal framework for online content regulation.
  • Section 66E punishes violation of privacy by capturing or transmitting private images without consent.
  • Section 67 punishes publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form.
  • Section 67A specifically punishes sexually explicit content in electronic form.
  • Section 67B covers sexual content involving children.
• The IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 operate under the IT Act, 2000.
  • Rule 3 (Due diligence by intermediaries) requires platforms to remove unlawful content and stop hosting obscene or sexual material.
  • Rule 4 (Additional rules for Significant Social Media Intermediaries) mandates platforms to appoint a Chief Compliance Officer and Grievance Officer.
    • Rule 4 also requires platforms to enable traceability of unlawful content.
• Non-compliance with IT Rules may lead to loss of ‘safe harbour protection’, which normally shields platforms from liability for user-generated content.
• The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 obligates platforms to inform police when they detect serious cognisable offences.
  • This is particularly important for offences involving women or children.