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The people’s newsroom

Science & TechTech policy

Internet Freedom Foundation asks IT ministry to publish and withdraw its advisories to Meta

The digital rights group says the 8 and 10 October advisories could choke reporting on the Delhi protests, and has offered free legal help to anyone whose posts were withheld in India.

From the editorial desk · New DelhiPublished
The Internet Freedom Foundation, a digital rights group based in New Delhi (file image)
The Internet Freedom Foundation, a digital rights group based in New Delhi (file image)Photo: Unknown author / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

Key points

  1. IFF wants MeitY to publish and withdraw advisories issued on 8 and 10 October.
  2. It says content should be restricted only through reasoned orders under Section 69A.
  3. The group has offered pro bono legal help to users whose content was withheld since 8 October.

The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) has asked the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to make public, and then withdraw, two advisories it sent to Meta about content on the protests in Delhi, saying they risk suppressing reporting that is critical of the government.

In a statement on Monday, the New Delhi-based digital rights group said the advisory of 10 October “singles out ‘unverified or misleading claims regarding the imposition of emergency, restrictions, police action or other official measures’”. It also referred to an earlier advisory dated 8 October. Neither has been published on the ministry’s website.

The 10 October advisory, from the ministry’s cyber laws division, asks Meta to step up monitoring of posts about public order situations and to review how Facebook and Instagram rank and recommend them. It calls for “rapid identification, review and escalation of content” that gains wide reach through recommendation systems.

IFF argued that if the government wants content taken down, it should do so only through “reasoned, published orders under Section 69A” of the IT Act, or through notices that comply with Rule 3(1)(d) of the IT Rules.

The group also turned to Meta. It asked the company to disclose every takedown, account suspension and downranking of dissenting content, and to restore accounts of journalists, outlets and creators unless there is a valid legal order, which should be given to the person concerned.

IFF offered free legal help to anyone whose content has been withheld in India since 8 October. Neither the ministry nor Meta had responded publicly by Monday evening.