India notified its new safe harbour rules for online intermediaries. These replace older rules from 2011, which required a fairly limited set of ‘due diligence’ actions as a prerequisite to claim safe harbour protections. These new 2021 rules go a lot further, requiring local Indian presence and proactive monitoring of online cases. Additionally, codes of conduct and regulations governing online news and streaming have also been added.

 

The new 2021 rules will cause a sea-change in the way an online intermediary, a social media company, or a publisher of online content operates in India. If your business, at any level, involves hosting or publishing third party content, you will need to observe new compliances to make sure you are not held liable for this content. In some cases, you will need to open an India office and appoint local employees for regulatory purposes.

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These documents prepared by BTG, will give you a more detailed picture of what is required under the new safe harbour regime, and help you get started on the road to compliance.

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Do reach out to us if you would like to discuss this or require any more details.