Intermediary Liability and Safe Harbour
Global Frameworks
The safe harbour concept for online intermediaries originated in the US with Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (1996) — which provides that platforms are not liable for user-generated content and cannot be treated as publishers. India's equivalent is Section 79 of the IT Act, 2000.
- Section 79 IT Act: Platforms not liable if they do not "initiate the transmission," do not "select the receiver," do not "select or modify the information," and comply with due diligence norms (IT Rules)
- The safe harbour is conditional — platforms that gain actual knowledge of illegal content must act expeditiously to remove it (notice-and-takedown mechanism)
- The FCU provision was designed to weaponise this conditionality: FCU flags content → platform faces notice → if it doesn't remove content, it loses Section 79 protection and faces liability for all user content
- EU comparison: EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), 2022 establishes a more balanced framework: platforms must conduct risk assessments, remove clearly illegal content, and provide transparency — but regulation is through independent bodies, not government-controlled entities
- India's IT Act predates the social media era; comprehensive reform of intermediary liability is overdue; this FCU case may accelerate legislative reconsideration
● Tracked since March 10, 2026 · last seen June 23, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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