Indian government proposes to modify the intermediary liability rules

The Indian government proposed to amend the rules governing intermediary liability protections, and invited comments on the draft ‘ Information Technology [Intermediary Guidelines (Amendment) Rules] 2018‘. Some of the proposed changes in the draft rules include: traceability of originator of information; establishing an office or appointment of nodal officer in India; deployment of automated tools for proactively identifying and disabling unlawful content. Concerns have been raised that the proposed changes could erode the safe harbour protection for intermediaries, as per  the Information Technology Act from 2000; affecting the fundamental rights of free speech and privacy of individuals, also breaking encryption.