The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) of the Indian government has written to social media platforms, asking them to provide details on their compliance with the new "Information Technology Intermediary (Guidelines and Digital Ethics Code) Rules, 2021."

The Central Government gave social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and others a three-month opportunity to comply with the new social media restrictions, which ended yesterday. The Centre notified the Information Technology (Guidelines For Intermediaries And Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 on February 25, 2021, to govern social media intermediaries, among other things, by enforcing a code of ethics and establishing a three-tier grievance redressal mechanism.

The Rules outline 16 due diligence processes that intermediaries in India must complete. This includes a commitment not to host, store, or publish any information that is forbidden due to its inconsistency with public order, decency, or morality, India's sovereignty and integrity, or the state's security, for example. The Rules also provide the Centre the authority to request that messaging platforms such as 'WhatsApp,' 'Facebook Messenger,' and 'Telegram' trace the 'initial originator' of messages. The government has underlined in its letter that a social media intermediary with fifty lakh (5 million) registered users in India is regarded as a Significant Social Media Intermediary (SSMI), and that Part-lI of the Rules essentially prescribes the due diligence to be conducted by: All intermediaries as specified by the Information Technology Act of 2000.

SSMI will be subjected to an additional round of due diligence. The following is an excerpt from the letter to Social Media Platforms: a) Name of app/website/service that is under the purview of a major social media intermediary b) Details regarding: • The name and contact information for the Chief Compliance Officer • Name and contact information for the Nodal Contact Person • The name and contact information for the Resident Grievance Officer. In India, the physical contact address c) The status of these Rules' compliance. “In related news, WhatsApp has filed a petition to overturn the traceability clause in Rule 4(2) of the Information Technology Rules, 2021, claiming that the requirement will "force it to build the ability to identify the first originator for every message sent in India on its platform upon request by the government forever." In context with the judgment of KS Puttuswamy v. Union of India, WhatsApp claims that the requirement does not pass the criteria embodied in Art. 21 of the Constitution, is obviously arbitrary in violation of Art. 14, is in breach of the Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression, and is in breach of Sec. 79 and 69A of the Information Technology Act.

In a press release released on Wednesday, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has clarified that the Government respects the right to privacy and has no intention to violate it when requiring WhatsApp to disclose the origin of a message. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology stated in a news release issued on Wednesday that the government respects the right to privacy and has no intention of violating it by compelling WhatsApp to reveal the origin of a message. "Such requirements apply only when the message is required for the prevention, investigation, or punishment of very serious offenses relating to India's sovereignty and integrity, the state's security, friendly relations with foreign states, or public order, or incitement to an offense relating to the above or in relation to rape, sexually explicit material, or child sexual abuse material.” It has now been made clear.

The press release states that the Indian government recognizes the 'Right to Privacy' as a valuable fundamental right and that India's Minister of Law and Justice, Ravi Shankar Prasad, has stated that "none of the measures proposed by India will impact the normal functioning of WhatsApp in any way whatsoever, and there will be no impact for the common users."