The government is finalising the ‘intermediaries guidelines’ to make the social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, more responsive and accountable.

“The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is in the process of amending the Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules, 2011, to make the social media platforms more responsive and accountable. The rules are being finalised,” Minister of State for Electronics and IT Sanjay Dhotre said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

The government had first released the draft for proposed amendments to the IT Act in December 2018, inviting public comments. It proposed to make it mandatory for platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter to trace the “originator” of “unlawful” information and remove such content within 24 hours of notice.