New Delhi: India’s push to tighten oversight of online content could soon extend to crowd-sourced moderation tools such as Community Notes on X. Government officials in the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) are considering whether such annotations made by users, particularly those involving public policy, politics, or current affairs, should be subject to a broader regulatory regime being proposed under amendments to the IT Rules.
Government officials who are familiar with the deliberations indicated that material that starts to sound like news or commentary on political matters might be subject to evaluation on a case-by-case basis. If authorities deem a community note unlawful, it could trigger formal takedown or blocking orders to the platform, requiring removal within a specified timeline. The discussions follow cases whereby the community notes were posted by the senior leaders and the government had concerns with the platform.
Expanded IT rules bring user content into focus
MeitY suggested amendments to the IT Rules on March 30, expanding Part III of the IT Rules, subjecting additional types of online content to the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB). The provisions are currently applied to the news and curated content publishers primarily. The suggested changes, nevertheless, aim at incorporating user-generated content, such as influencer posts or reposted content, into the sphere of the ministry.
Officials say the intent is to formalise oversight over a category that has so far remained loosely regulated. IT Secretary S Krishnan made a statement to the press in which he explained that the amendments were clarificatory and procedural and do not provide the government with expanded powers.
Community Notes on political posts draw attention
Several posts by leaders published earlier this year, such as those by Narendra Modi, Dharmendra Pradhan, and Ashwini Vaishnaw, included Community Notes which added further context or counterpoint. The government flagged some of these notes to X as per the sources.
In some instances, notes were removed subsequently. For example, a note attached to a February speech by the Prime Minister questioning the constitutional validity of certain policies was taken down. A second note mentioning alleged deportation claims based on Amit Shah statements has been published and unpublished periodically. However, not all notes have been removed. There is a clarification note beneath a post of Droupadi Murmu, which is still present on the platform.
Questions over accountability and liability
The suggested structure poses confusing queries on accountability. Community Notes are written and edited by many people in contrast to traditional content. According to the authorities, liability can eventually be decided in court, based on who has contributed and whether the platform has anything to do with curating the content.
The implication of such provisions of the law has raised concerns among legal experts and industry stakeholders on the manner in which it will be applied in practice. In consultations, the intermediaries presented arguments that they should not be subjected to regulations that were intended to govern publishers, as it would create confusion in regulating them and they would run the risk of violating the regulations.
Policy experts warn of broad scope
Policy analysts warn that the expansion proposed could be overly broad. According to Dhruv Garg of the Indian Governance & Policy Project, the rules might apply to community-driven sites, like Wikipedia or collaborative sites like Community Notes, where the content is constantly changing and not controlled by an authority.
This interpretation, however, seems to be inconsistent with that of the government. The authorities insist that the amendments are not aimed at going too far but holding people accountable in a dynamic digital ecosystem. The discussion should be an ongoing one, but the deadline to submit stakeholder feedback will probably be postponed after the industry backlash.
The final result of these talks might have a wider impact than X. Meta has already declared that it will begin to implement Community Notes-like features on its platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, but it is unclear when it will start implementation in India.
The introduction of collaborative moderation systems is a crucial change as India considers the redefinition of digital content governance. The ultimate form of the rules will decide whether or not such tools will further be used as open, community-driven tools or be regulated under stricter requirements.