(1) In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(a) ‘access control mechanism’ means any measure, including a technical measure, through which access to online curated content may be restricted based on verification of the identity or age of a user;
(b) ‘access services’ means any measure, including technical measure such as closed captioning, subtitles and audio descriptions, through which the accessibility of online curated content may be improved for persons with disabilities;
(c) ‘Act’ means the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000);
(d) ‘child’ means any person below the age of eighteen years;
(e) ‘committee’ means the Inter-Departmental Committee constituted under rule 14;
(f) ‘communication link’ means a connection between a hypertext or graphical element, and one or more items in the same or different electronic document wherein upon clicking on a hyperlinked item, the user is automatically transferred to the other end of the hyperlink which can be another electronic record or another website or application or graphical element;
(g) ‘content’ means the electronic record defined in clause (t) of section 2 of the Act;
(h) ‘content descriptor’ means the issues and concerns which are relevant to the classification of any online curated content, including discrimination, depiction of illegal or harmful substances, imitable behaviour, nudity, language, sex, violence, fear, threat, horror and other such concerns as specified in the Schedule annexed to the rules;
(i) ‘digital media’ means digitized content that can be transmitted over the internet or computer networks and includes content received, stored, transmitted, edited or processed by- 1 Vide G.S.R. 139(E), dated 25.2.2021, published in the Gazette of India, Extra., Pt. II, Sec. 3(i), dated
25.2.2021.
(i) an intermediary; or
(ii) a publisher of news and current affairs content or a publisher of online curated content;
(j) ‘grievance’ includes any complaint, whether regarding any content, any duties of an intermediary or publisher under the Act, or other matters pertaining to the computer resource of an intermediary or publisher, as the case may be;
(k) ‘Grievance Officer’ means an officer appointed by the intermediary or the 1[online gaming self-regulatory body or the] publisher, as the case may be, for the purposes of these rules;
2[(ka) ‘Grievance Appellate Committee’ means a grievance appellate committee constituted under rule 3A;]
(l) ‘Ministry’ means, for the purpose of Part II of these rules unless specified otherwise, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, and for the purpose of Part III of these rules, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India;
(m) ‘news and current affairs content’ includes newly received or noteworthy content, including analysis, especially about recent events primarily of socio-political, economic or cultural nature, made available over the internet or computer networks, and any digital media shall be news and current affairs content where the context, substance, purpose, import and meaning of such information is in the nature of news and current affairs content.
(n) ‘newspaper’ means a periodical of loosely folded sheets usually printed on newsprint and brought out daily or at least once in a week, containing information on current events, public news or comments on public news;
(o) ‘news aggregator’ means an entity who, performing a significant role in determining the news and current affairs content being made available, makes available to users a computer resource that enable such users to access the news and current affairs content which is aggregated, curated and presented by such entity.
(p) ‘on demand’ means a system where a user, subscriber or viewer is enabled to access, at a time chosen by such user, any content in electronic form, which is transmitted over a computer resource and is selected by the user;
(q) ‘online curated content’ means any curated catalogue of audio-visual content, other than news and current affairs content, which is owned by, licensed to or contracted to be transmitted by a publisher of online curated content, and made available on demand, including but not limited through subscription, over the internet or computer networks, and includes films, audio visual programmes, documentaries, television programmes, serials, podcasts and other such content;
1 Ins. by G.S.R. 275(E), dated 6.4.2023.
2 Ins. by G.S.R. 794(E), dated 28.10.2022 (w.e.f. 28.10.2022).
1[(qa) ‘online game’ means a game that is offered on the Internet and is accessible by a user through a computer resource or an intermediary.
Explanation.—In this clause, ‘Internet’ means the combination of computer facilities and electromagnetic transmission media, and related equipment and software, comprising the interconnected worldwide network of computer networks that transmits information based on a protocol for controlling such transmission;
(qb) ‘online gaming intermediary’ means any intermediary that enables the users of its computer resource to access one or more online games;
(qc) ‘online gaming self-regulatory body’ means an entity designated as such under rule 4A;
(qd) ‘online real money game’ means an online game where a user makes a deposit in cash or kind with the expectation of earning winnings on that deposit.
Explanation.—In this clause, ‘winnings’ means any prize, in cash or kind, which is distributed or intended to be distributed to a user of an online game based on the performance of the user and in accordance with the rules of such online game;
(qe) ‘permissible online game’ means a permissible online real money game or any other online game that is not an online real money game;
(qf) ‘permissible online real money game’ means an online real money game verified by an online gaming self-regulatory body under rule 4A;]
(r) ‘person’ means a person as defined in sub-section (31) of section 2 of the Income tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961);
(s) ‘publisher’ means a publisher of news and current affairs content or a publisher of online curated content;
(t) ‘publisher of news and current affairs content’ means an online paper, news portal, news aggregator, news agency and such other entity called by whatever name, which is functionally similar to publishers of news and current affairs content but shall not include newspapers, replica e-papers of the newspaper and any individual or user who is not transmitting content in the course of systematic business, professional or commercial activity;
(u) ‘publisher of online curated content’ means a publisher who, performing a significant role in determining the online curated content being made available, makes available to users a computer resource that enables such users to access online curated content over the internet or computer networks, and such other entity called by whatever name, which is functionally similar to publishers of online curated content but does not include any individual or user who is not transmitting online curated content in the course of systematic business, professional or commercial activity;
1 Ins. by G.S.R. 275(E), dated 6.4.2023.
(v) ‘significant social media intermediary’ means a social media intermediary having number of registered users in India above such threshold as notified by the Central Government;
(w) ‘social media intermediary’ means an intermediary which primarily or solely enables online interaction between two or more users and allows them to create, upload, share, disseminate, modify or access information using its services;
(x) ‘user’ means any person who accesses or avails any computer resource of an intermediary or a publisher for the purpose of hosting, publishing, sharing, transacting, viewing, displaying, downloading or uploading information and includes other persons jointly participating in using such computer resource and addressee and originator;
(y) ‘user account’ means the account registration of a user with an intermediary or publisher and includes profiles, accounts, pages, handles and other similar presences by means of which a user is able to access the services offered by the intermediary or publisher.
(2) Words and expressions used and not defined in these rules but defined in the Act and rules made thereunder shall have the same meaning as assigned to them in the Act and the said rules, as the case may be.
PART II DUE DILIGENCE BY INTERMEDIARIES AND GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL MECHANISM