FACEBOOK INC Vs. UNION OF INDIA & ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Various writ petitions have been filed in different High Courts in the country wherein the petitioners have raised various grievances with regard to the intermediaries (social media platforms etc.) as defined in the Information Technology Act, 2000 (for short 'the IT Act '). In some of the petitions, it was claimed that Aadhar should be linked to the identity/account of each user of the services provided by the intermediaries. In some of the cases, the grievance is that the intermediaries are not providing information in respect of the originator of the communication/content which has been circulated/transmitted/shared on the platforms provided by the intermediaries. There are two sets of petitions before us. In the first set of petitions, there is a prayer that all the matters should be transferred to this Court. It is urged that some similar matters are pending in this Court and even though some of them may not be directly connected, they should be heard with the present matters. The other set of petitions is where challenge has been made to various interim orders passed by the Madras High Court in Writ Petition No. 20214 of 2018 and Writ Petition No.20774 of 2018. At the outset, we may point out that in the Madras High Court the prayer for linkage to Aadhar has been withdrawn. Be that as it may, we are making it clear that we are not expressing any views on the merits of the submissions either with regard to the transfer or on the merits of the orders challenged before us. However, in view of the serious issues involved, we deem it appropriate to highlight certain aspects.

(2.) The main issue arising in these petitions is how and in what manner the intermediaries should provide information including the names of the originators of any message/content/information shared on the platforms run by these intermediaries. There are various messages and content spread/shared on the social media, some of which are harmful. Some messages can incite violence. There may be messages which are against the sovereignty and integrity of the country. Social media has today become the source of large amount of pornography. Paedophiles use social media in a big way. Drugs, weapons and other contrabands can be sold through the use of platforms run by the intermediaries. In such circumstances, it is imperative that there is a properly framed regime to find out the persons/institutions/bodies who are the originators of such content/messages. It may be necessary to get such information from the intermediaries.

(3.) Under the IT Act and the rules framed thereunder, the intermediaries are also required to furnish some information. Section 87 of the IT Act gives power to the Central Government to frame rules and in terms thereof, the Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules, 2011 have been notified. Sub- rule 4 and sub-rule 7 of Rule 3 of these Rules require the intermediaries to store certain information and that information has to be provided in accordance with the Rules.