This article discusses the Code of Ethics to be followed by publishers and the establishment of a three-tier system for addressing the grievances in relation to publishers in adherence to Rule 9 of the IT Rules 2021.

Introduction

Research conducted must be published or documented since it is critical for the evolution of various fields like science, history, commerce, legal, etc.; otherwise, it is rendered undone or incomplete.

The publisher has a pivotal, supporting, and telling role in this process and is also responsible for ensuring that bona fide practices are being followed to get published.

Publishers have the duty and responsibility to ensure that the piece of work that is being published by them is carried out in accordance with the Code of Ethics, for the purpose of this article, in adherence to Rule 9 of IT Rules 2021.

The purpose of this Code of Ethics is to make sure that every piece of work that is being published does not, in any case, disrupt peace and public order in the nation, hurt the religious sentiments of various multi-cultured groups, or display anything which may require prior viewer discretion advisory.

We shall now discuss the Code of Ethics in detail in accordance with the IT Rules.

Code of Ethics to be followed by the Publishers

The IT Rules 2021 state in a clear and concise manner the Code of Ethics to be followed by a publisher, for the purpose of this article, in adherence to Rule 9, which states that a publisher shall observe and adhere to the Code of Ethics laid down in the Appendix of the IT Rules.

Notwithstanding anything contained in these rules, a publisher referred in Rule 8 who contravenes any law in force shall be held liable and will have to face the consequences for the same as provided by the law. It also states that to ensure that the publishers working in the territory of India are duly observing and adhering to the Code of Ethics, there shall be a three-tier system for addressing the grievances in relation to publishers.

Firstly, let’s discuss the Code of Ethics to be followed by the publishers of news and current affairs and online curated content, which are laid down in the Appendix of the IT rules:

The publisher of news and current affairs must follow the Norms of Journalistic Conduct of the Press Council of India under Press Council Act, 1978, Programme Code under section 5 of the Cable Television Networks Regulation Act, 1995 and shall refrain from publishing any content which is prohibited under any law in force.

IT Rules 2021, Appendix, Code of Ethics (I)

A publisher must abstain from publishing anything which has been prohibited under any law for the time being in force or has been prohibited by any court of competent jurisdiction.

 IT Rules 2021, Appendix, Code of Ethics (II) (A) (a)

The publisher must exercise due caution and discretion while publishing any content which shall affect the sovereignty and integrity of India or may cause to be detrimental to India’s friendly relations with foreign countries.

The publisher is required to exercise due caution and must duly consider the consequences prior to publishing anything which may lead to disruption of public order, instigate violence amongst the public or threaten, endanger and jeopardize the security of the state.

IT Rules 2021, Appendix, Code of Ethics (II) (A) (b)

The publisher must take into consideration the rich culture and diversity of our nation and exercise due caution and discretion when publishing anything pertaining to religious beliefs, practices, or views on any religious group.

IT Rules 2021, Appendix, Code of Ethics (II) (A) (c)

To ensure that the publishers working in the territory of India are duly observing and adhering to the Code of Ethics, there shall be a three-tier system for addressing the grievances in relation to publishers, which has been briefly listed below:

Level-I: Self-regulation by the publishers: A Grievance Redressal Officer who shall be a citizen of India shall be appointed by the publisher and will be responsible for the redressal of grievances. The publisher is required to display such details pertaining to grievances redressal mechanism on the platform, interface, or website along with the details of the Grievance Redressal Officer’s name and contact information. The officer is expected to take a decision on every grievance received by him within 15 days and communicate the same to the complainant within the time. Such an officer shall be the contact point for receiving and acknowledging any grievance in relation to the Code of Ethics.

IT Rules 2021, Chapter II, Rule 11

Level-II: Self-regulation by the self-regulating bodies of the publishers: It states that there may be one or more self-regulatory bodies of publishers, and such a body will have to register with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and shall be headed by a retired judge of a High Court or the Supreme Court or an independent eminent person from the field of media, child rights, broadcasting, human rights to any such relevant field. This body should not have more than six members from the field of child rights, media, broadcasting, human rights, or any other relevant field. Such a body is responsible for keeping a check on the publisher and ensuring he adheres to the Code of Ethics, address grievances that have not been taken care of by the publisher within fifteen days, providing guidance to the publisher on various aspects of the Code of Ethics, hear appeals of the complainants and advise the publisher to make certain changes in the age classification, modify content, change disclaimer, as the case may be.

IT Rules 2021, Chapter III, Rule 12

Level-III: Oversight mechanism: Ministry of Information and Broadcasting will formulate an oversight mechanism and shall establish an Inter-Departmental Committee for hearing grievances of the users, publish a charter for self-regulating bodies, advising and guiding the publishers, issuing directions to the publishers for maintenance and adherence to the Code of Ethics.

IT Rules 2021, Chapter IV, Rule 13 (1)

It is also required to appoint an Authorised Officer of the Ministry, whose rank shall not be below the Joint Secretary of the Government, for the purposes of issuing directions which are applicable as per Rule 15 or 16.

In addition to this, the Code of Ethics in the Appendix of IT Rules also states that all the content transmitted or published by a publisher on whatsoever platform is required to be classified on the basis and type of the content.

The content may be classified on the basis of the theme of the content, violence, nudity and sex, profanity, horror, and drugs and substance abuse.

 IT Rules 2021, Appendix, Code of Ethics (II) (B)

The aforementioned classification is modified by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting from time to time. The content is also required to be categorized by the publishers into age-based categories. The publishers of news and current affairs content and online curated stuff are supposed to self-classify the content into five age-based categories, which are:

• U (Universal), which is suitable for all people, including children.
• U/A 7+, which is suitable for persons aged 7 years and above and may be watched by a person below the age of 7 with parental guidance.
• U/A 13+, which is suitable for persons aged 13 years and above and may be watched by a person below the age of 13 with parental guidance.
• U/A 16+, which is suitable for persons aged 16 years and above and may be watched by a person below the age of 16 with parental guidance.
• A (Adult), which is only suitable for adults.

 Publishers are supposed to strictly implement parental locks for the content, which is classified as U/A 13+ or higher. They are also expected to implement reliable age verification mechanisms for content classified as adult content.

The publisher of news and current affairs content are supposed to show classification rating pertaining to each content along with a description of the content informing the user about the nature of the content, and advising viewer discretion at the beginning of every programme so that the user may take a sound decision.

 IT Rules 2021, Appendix, Code of Ethics (II) (C)

The publisher also has the responsibility to restrict the access of content to children which has an ‘A’ rating (Adult). Access to any such content with ‘A’ rating to children shall be restricted by the publisher by implementing appropriate access control measures.

IT Rules 2021, Appendix, Code of Ethics (II) (D)

The publishers are also required to incorporate appropriate mechanisms to make it feasible for persons with disabilities to access the content published by the publishers on various platforms. A publisher shall make reasonable efforts to improve the access to online content for persons with disabilities.

Conclusion

To extrapolate, news and current affairs and online curated stuff, on occasions, might contain content that could disrupt the peace and harmony of the public or endanger the security of the state if the publisher did not take due caution prior to publishing.

Therefore, to ensure that this does not happen, the publishers strictly follow the rules in adherence to Rule 9 in IT Rules 2021.

The rules advise the publishers to take due caution when the content that is being published might result in disruption of public order, jeopardize the security of the state, may damage friendly relations with foreign countries, incite disdain in religious groups, or may affect sovereignty and integrity of India.

The IT Rules also provide for a three-tier system for ensuring observance and adherence to the Code of Ethics by publishers operating in the territory of India for addressing grievances in relation to the publishers.

The three levels are self-regulation by the publishers, self-regulation by the self-regulating bodies of the publishers, and oversight mechanism.

The new rules mandate the publishers to take appropriate steps to restrict the access of content with ‘A’ rating to children. The Code of Ethics also mandates the publishers to classify the content on the basis of the type of the content and classify the content into several age-based categories. In addition to this, the publishers are also required to take proper steps to make it feasible for persons with disabilities to access the online curated stuff. The new rules are expected to wane the aforementioned issues that exist pertaining to the publishing of content.

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