Days after Senior IT ministry officials met representatives of major social media and internet companies, the Government plans to amend the IT Law. This was a much-needed change, although a total abolishment of the prevailing Law and construction of new Law is very necessary.

IT and Social Media

The IT Law dates back to 2000. Ever since technological advancement has completely surpassed the required demand for better rules and guidelines. To provide an example, Social Media came into existence after 2000, and it so seems like Social Media has been a part of our life from the start. It only goes to show how much of ourselves we put on the internet and the sheer amount of data is not even protected properly.

What is the new Law all about?

The amendment to the IT Law seems to boil down to unlawful content and how the source of such content can be found out and the source be taken down. This will definitely hamper your WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and twitter use as the second most important thing is fake news. Last year, the Government had carried out to test whether blocking websites or Apps is actually good or feasible.

There will be strict Penalties!

The officials also believe that the penalties imposed on the perpetrator should be revised. The current fine is so significantly small that a large global website would have no problem paying the fine each time it is imposed. The Bill finalized by the Government proposes a new maximum penalty. It would be either Rs. 15 crores or 4% of Global turnover of the violator, depending on which one is more.

While this amendment will provide the Government power to delete content and block its access, it is curious to if it could also take down the sites that seriously violate the Law.