Relevance: GS-2: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests
Key Phrases: Data Protection Act , European Union ,Central Regulations ,IT Rules 2021 , Systemic Risks, Terrorist propaganda ,Flagged hate Speech ,Codifying Liability and Accountability , Grievance Redressal ,Very large Online Platforms.
Why in News ?
- The EU’s new Digital Services Act (DSA) which is aimed at establishing central regulations for big tech, could validate the Indian government’s approach towards tech laws.
- Some of the rules set by the DSA are similar to those in India’s Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, also known as the IT Rules .
What is The Digital Services Act ?
- The DSA, which EU members agreed to on 23 April, seeks to regulate how Google, Facebook, and Amazon target advertisements towards users, based on parameters such as religion or race, and adopt stricter ways to cut down on hate speech or child abuse material on platforms.
- The law is aimed to make the digital sector fairer and more competitive.
- It will force big Internet companies to act against disinformation and illegal and harmful content, and to provide better protection for Internet users and their fundamental rights.
- Tech companies would be compelled to set up new policies and procedures to remove flagged hate speech, terrorist propaganda and other material defined as illegal by countries within the EU.
Similarities Between DSA and India’s IT Rules :
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Codifying accountability and Liability of Social media Platforms :
- The DSA can help set the pace for other countries in codifying accountability and liability of social media platforms.
- India has already sought a more responsible social media with its IT Rules. This is now easier to push for on a global scale because of the DSA.
- Grievance Redressal Mechanism :
- In India, the IT Rules, 2021, made it mandatory for significant social media intermediaries, or online platforms with more than 5 million registered users in India, to appoint a grievance redressal officer. The latter is required to acknowledge a user’s grievance within 24 hours of receipt of the complaint, and offer a resolution in the next 15 days.
- The DSA seeks to establish a similar practice, where users of very large online platforms (VLOPs), which have more than 45 million registered EU users, will be able to challenge content moderation decisions made by the platforms. They will also be able to take legal recourse, through courts, against decisions made by such tech platforms.
- Ensuring fairness of recommendation algorithms used by social media
platforms :
- In December 2021, recommendations on India’s upcoming Data Protection Bill made by a joint parliamentary committee stated that online platforms would be required to ensure transparency and fairness of algorithms that are used to process personal user data.
- The DSA seeks to establish transparency measures so that platforms have to explain decisions where algorithms are used for recommending content or products to users.
Why is the Legislation a Game-changer ?
- Ending the era of Self- Regulation :The law aims to end an era of self-regulation in which tech companies set their own policies about what content could stay up or be taken down.
- Addressing Online Speech : It stands out from other regulatory attempts by addressing online speech, an area that is largely off limits in the United States because of First Amendment protections.
- Yearly auditing of Big Techs : Google, which owns YouTube, and Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, would face yearly audits for systemic risks linked to their businesses, while Amazon would confront new rules to stop the sale of illegal products.
- To Counter Anti-Competitive behaviour :It aims to counter what regulators see as anti-competitive behavior by the biggest tech firms, including their grip over app stores, online advertising and internet shopping.
Status of Regulatory Activities of Tech Companies :
- Companies such as Google and Facebook already publish transparency reports on how they react to government requests for data removal on their platform around the world voluntarily.
- However, many industry observers have often labelled self-regulatory efforts of tech companies to be inadequate.
- As per Observer Research Foundation (ORF), a Delhi-based think-tank,self-regulation has so far allowed big tech to cherry pick what is to be acted on and what is to be ignored effectively making it the arbiter of permissible speech.
- It stated that regulations such as the DSA were brought upon by social media itself, through its resistance to transparency and accountability .
- In the absence of neutral regulatory enforcement, companies do not have to comply with the law, but only with the government’s demands.
- Even if any legal changes are made in Indian laws based on the DSA, it won’t matter much if the enforcement is selective .
Conclusion :
- The DSA is both a precedent and validation of India’s own rules governing social media intermediaries and limiting their safe harbour protection.
- The new legislation could dramatically change the way big tech firms such as Apple, Google, Meta, and Amazon operate in Europe, and have ramifications for the rest of the world as well.
Source: Live Mint
Mains Question :
Q. What is the new Data Protection Act passed by the European Union ? How is it a validation of the Indian government’s approach towards tech laws ? (250 words ).
