Govt to issue SOP for new IT rules; release FAQ to simplify requirements

The government is likely to soon bring out a standard operating procedure (SOP) on the new Information Technology Rules. The Centre will consult with the industry and stakeholders, as well as address their concerns about the new rules.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology will also release a set of "frequently asked questions" (FAQs) to simplify the requirements in the rules, as mentioned in a report by Business Standard. An official told the daily that the FAQs will be in a very simple format, explaining the IT rules, but the SOPs might take longer due to the consultations with various stakeholders.

The industry has been seeking clarity on issues including appointing officers under the new IT rules notified by the government on February 25.

One of the most pressing concerns that the industry has is in regards with the publishing of monthly compliance reports. The rules state that social media intermediaries or those with over 5 million users will have to publish a compliance report every month and mention details including complaints received and action taken etc. Intermediaries are so far unclear about the format of these reports.

Social media intermediaries are also unclear about the time required before which a user needs to be informed about their content being taken down.

Aprameya Radhakrishna, co-founder and CEO of microblogging platform Koo told the daily that they haven't found it difficult to follow the guidelines. He said that all the guidelines are user-centric and they haven't had any problems so far. Radhakrishna said that there is still scope to engage with the authorities and weed out some grey areas.

Also read: 'Law of the land supreme': Parliamentary panel grills Twitter over violation of new IT rules