After the union government notified IT Rules 2021, theapex court, as per reports will no longer use WhatsApp- an online instantmessaging app for sharing links of virtual hearings.
Replacing the WhatsApp, registered email-ids and mobilenumbers will be used.
The decision comes in the wake of Information Technology(Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021.
In a notice it was informed that from now onwards thevirtual conference links for online hearings won't be shared via WhatsApp dueto the new guidelines or regulations issued by government pertaining to socialmedia apps and OTT platforms.
The government has announced changes to the online media.Ministry of Information and Broadcasting held consultations in Delhi, Mumbaiand Chennai over the last one and half years wherein OTT players have beenurged to develop “self-regulatory mechanism”.
According to the official statement by Ministry ofElectronics and Information Technology, the Government studied the models inother countries including Singapore, Australia, EU and UK. It noticed that mostof them either have an institutional mechanism to regulate digital content orare in the process of setting-up one.
According to Meity, the rules establish a soft-touchself-regulatory architecture and a Code of Ethics and three tier grievanceredressal mechanism for news publishers and OTT Platforms and digital media.