PRIMER ON DUE DILIGENCE REQUIREMENT FOR AN INTERMEDIARY UNDER THE 2026 AMENDMENT TO THE INTERMEDIARY RULES, 2021
| Sl. No. | Amended / inserted Rule | Requirement | Intermediary |
| 1. | 3(1)(c) |
Periodically inform users the following at least
once every three months: (i) Non-compliance with Rules or Policy will result in termination or suspension of access rights, or removal or disablement of access to such information, or both. (ii) For non-compliance of information with applicable law, user responsible for such information may be liable for penalty or punishment under IT Act or any law; and (iii) Reporting requirement for commission of certain offences including under BNSS 2023, POCSO 2012. |
All intermediaries |
| 2. | 3(1)(ca) |
Inform users: (i) Using the intermediary for Synthetically Generated Information ('SGI')1 (i) Non-compliance with Rules or Policy will result in termination or suspension of access rights, or removal or disablement of access to such information, or both. (ii) Any contravention of Rule 3(3)(a)(i) may lead to disabling of information2, suspension or termination of the user account, identification of user and disclosure of user information to Complainant, and reporting where such contravention relates to violation of BNSS 2023 or POCSO 2012. |
All intermediaries permitting SGI on its platform. |
| 3. | 3(1)(cb) | On becoming aware of SGI on (i) its own accord; or (ii) on receipt of actual knowledge; or (iii) basis of grievance; or (iv) complaint or information received under the Rules; in relation to violation of Rule 3(3), shall take expeditious and appropriate action including under Rule 3(ca)(ii). | All intermediaries permitting SGI on its platform. |
| 4. | 3(1)(d) | Three (3) hours3: Time period for takedown of content pursuant to Court Order or request from law enforcement. | All intermediaries |
| 5. | 3(2)(a)(i) |
Seven (7) Days4:
Time period for Grievance Redressal. Thirty-Six (36) Hours5: Time period for Grievance Redressal of contents stipulated in Rule 3(1)(b) (ii),(iii),(v)-(x). |
All intermediaries |
| 6. | 3(2)(b) | Two (2) Hours6: Time period for removal of or disable access to explicit content. | All intermediaries |
| 7. | 3(1)(d) | Deploy reasonable and appropriate technical measures including automated tools to prevent creation | All intermediaries permitting SGI on its platform. |
1 2(1)(wa), Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, ‘synthetically generated information’ means audio, visual or audio-visual information which is artificially or algorithmically created, generated, modified or altered using a computer resource, in a manner that such information appears to be real, authentic or true and depicts or portrays any individual or event in a manner that is, or is likely to be perceived as indistinguishable from a natural person or real-world event; Provided that the purposes of this clause, an audio, visual or audio-visual information shall not be deemed to be ‘synthetically generated information’, where such audio, visual or audio-visual information arises from⎯ (a) routine or good-faith editing, formatting, enhancement, technical correction, colour adjustment, noise reduction, transcription, or compression that does not materially alter, distort, or misrepresent the substance, context, or meaning of the underlying audio, visual or audio-visual information; or (b) the routine or good-faith creation, preparation, formatting, presentation or design of documents, presentations, portable document format (PDF) files, educational or training materials, research outputs, including the use of illustrative, hypothetical, draft, template-based or conceptual content, where such creation or presentation does not result in the creation or generation of any false document or false electronic record; or (c) the use of computer resources solely for improving accessibility, clarity, quality, translation, description, searchability, or discoverability, without generating, altering, or manipulating any material part of the underlying audio, visual or audiovisual information.
2 Rule. 2(1A), "For the purposes of these rules, any reference to ‘information’ in the context of information being used to commit an unlawful act, including under clauses (b) and (d) of sub-rule (1) of rule 3 and sub-rules (2) and (4) of rule 4, shall be construed to include synthetically generated information, unless the context otherwise requires."
3 36 hours prior to Amendment.
4 15 days prior to Amendment.
5 72 hours prior to Amendment.
6 24 hours prior to Amendment.