Will the Minister of Electronics and Information Technology be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government proposes to regulate social media platforms, i.e., facebook and whatsApp to protect the interest of their users and if so, the details thereof;
(b) the restrictions imposed by the Government on these platforms in the last one year;
(c) whether the Government or any of its agencies have access to the data and voice messages circulated through whatsApp; and
(d) if so, the details thereof?
(a): The social media platforms, for the user generated content made available on their platforms, are intermediaries as defined in the Information Technology Act, 2000. Section 79 of the Act provides exemption from liability to intermediaries, provided they follow certain due diligence. The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules, 2011 notified under this section specifies the due diligence to be followed by these intermediaries.
(b): No restriction has been imposed on Facebook and WhatsApp.
(c) and (d): No, Sir.
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