Role of Intermediaries in Copyright Law and Information Technology Act: Balancing Rights and Responsibilities

Abstract

Nowadays the digital environment is growing rapidly so the role of the intermediaries is also becoming a highlighting point. Intermediaries such as various social media platforms, for example Facebook, Youtube and Instagram, play an important role towards people. Not just social media, but there are other mediums too which play a significant role as intermediairs including e- commerce platforms, Internet Service Providers (ISP), etc. In India there are existing laws which protect the rights of intermediaries but which need to be more effective and elaborative, more clear and concisely updated with the current era. There are laws such as Copyright Act 1957 and Information Technology Act 2000 which highlights the provisions related to intermediaries, for example section 79 of IT Act 2000 which talks about the “Safe Harbour” provision which refers to a provision in law or regulation that offers protection from liability or penalty, provided certain conditions are met. This doctrinal study suggests in-depth exploration of intermediaries liability responsibilities towards new digital activity holders of the country and study of existing laws and highlights why we need more focus on this issue. For the study of this research I referred to various articles, books, journals and expert opinions which gave me valuable insights to fulfill these gaps.