Proposed amendments to India's information technology rules, which would extend government oversight to user-generated news content on social media, faced pushback from industry and digital rights groups at consultations held by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on Tuesday.
The government signalled it may extend the public feedback window, which was initially set to expire on April 14, after receiving around 70–100 responses.
IT Secretary S Krishnan sought to allay concerns, stating that the amendments do not give the government wider powers and are only clarificatory in nature.
However, industry representatives raised concerns over proposed Rule 3(4), which makes government advisories binding on intermediaries, and questioned their inclusion under Part III of the rules, which governs digital media.
The government said it would review all feedback before finalising the rules, with Krishnan stating that the Ministry is open-minded.
