The Delhi High Court requested the Centre’s response to a new petition challenging the constitutionality of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, that the Central Government promulgated on February 25, 2021.
The Bench, which included Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh, issued a notice in a case filed by an advocate who is impacted by the Rules. The case will be heard on September 13, 2021.
As a user of numerous Social Media Intermediaries (SMIs) such as WhatsApp, Instagram, and Twitter, Advocate Uday Bedi has questioned Rules 3 and 4 of the IT Rules, 2021, for infringing on the user’s confidentiality in private communication and thus being illegitimate and ultra vires of the parent Act, the Information Technology Act, 2000.
The request claims there’s no way for the data’s creator to be addressed before the SMI decides to limit access to the information, limiting him of his fundamental right without being addressed.
The plea reads, “This clause is exceedingly harsh and leads to a grave violation of Article 14.”
In light of this, the petition seeks to have Rule 3 and 4 of the IT Rules, 2021, struck down.
Lawcutor 