Page 33 - Approved Social Media Framework and Guidelines

2000. Further if person wants, they can sue the said Government department for
damages beyond 5 crore Rupees in a court of competent jurisdiction.

xvi. In case the concerned Government department does not comply with all the
aforesaid laws, the said Government department as also the person heading the
department and the concerned IT head would also be liable for criminal liability
which could range from imprisonment of 3 years to life imprisonment and fine which
could range from 1 lakh to 10 lakh Rupees.

The aforesaid is the current legal position in India which impacts Government departments
providing social media facilities on their network. In the light of the stringent provisions of
the law and the subsequent legal consequences for non-compliance of the law, it is
therefore absolutely essential that the relevant Government department providing social
media facilities must completely comply with all the above mentioned legal parameters as
mandatorily stipulated by the Information Technology Act, 2000 as amended by the
Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008 and various rules, regulations and
notifications issued there under.

The specific legal provisions referred to above as extracted below:-

· Section 2(1)(w) of the amended Information Technology Act, 2000 states as
follows:

· “Intermediary with respect to any particular electronic records, means any person
who on behalf of another person receives, stores or transmits that record or
provides any service with respect to that record and includes telecom service

providers, network service providers, internet service providers, web-hosting service
providers, search engines, online payment sites, online auction sites, online market
places and cyber cafes.”

· Section 79 of the amended Information Technology Act, 2000: Once the

Government becomes an “[intermediary”, its liability for third party data or
information is specifically stipulated under Section 79 of the amended Information
Technology Act, 2000. Section 79 of the amended Information Technology Act, 2000
states as follows:-
“Section -79 Exemption from liability of intermediary in certain cases

(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force but
subject to the provisions of sub-sections (2) and (3), an intermediary shall not be liable
for any third party information, data, or communication link made available or hosted by
him.

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