Social media enable information, ideas, interests, and other manifestations through virtual groups and networks. Despite the variety of stand-alone and built-in social networking platforms, there are certain common aspects.

• Interactive Web 2.0 applications are social media.

• Social media relies on user-generated material, including text postings, images, videos, and statistics from all online interactions.

• The social networking company designs and maintains service-specific accounts for users.

• Social media helps online social networks grow by linking users' profiles to others'.

• Media platforms are user-centric and permit coordinated action when they're called social. Thus, social media facilitate or increases human networks, which improves social connection. 

On Wednesday, the government notified the legislature that it does not oversee social media intermediaries or impose restrictions on its users' right to free speech.

The IT Rules, 2021, according to Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and IT, impose particular criteria on the intermediaries, including a need that they did not infringe the rights given to citizens by the constitution.

Intermediaries are organisations that keep or transport data on behalf of other people, according to the IT Rules, 2021. Online shops, search engines, telecom and internet service providers, and social media websites are a few examples of intermediaries.

"Government never interferes with nor manages social media intermediaries, nor does it impose restrictions on users' freedom of expression. 

The IT Rules, 2021, place particular requirements on intermediaries, including a prohibition against violating the rights guaranteed to individuals by the Constitution, "added the minister.

According to him, the government's goal is to provide citizens with an accessible, trustworthy, and open internet.

The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021, also known as IT Rules 2021, cast a specific obligation on intermediaries around the type of information to be hosted, displayed, uploaded, published, transmitted, stored, or shared. 

Also, Read: The effect of social media on building relationships and making friends.

The minister shared this information in response to a question about whether the government intends to appoint an officer to hold them accountable for social media.

According to the rules, intermediaries must also delete any content that violates current in-force laws as soon as it comes to their attention, either by a court order, a notice from the relevant government, or an agency designated by it.

The minister stated, "Intermediaries shall lose their immunity from liability under section 79 of the IT Act and shall be responsible for consequential action as allowed in such law in case of failing to exercise diligence as given in the IT Rules, 2021.

In response to a question about the government's actions against social media companies, Mr Chandrasekhar stated that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued directives for blocking 6,775 URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) for webpages, websites, content, and accounts on social media platforms in 2022.