Update: Amendments in the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act 2023 to the Information Technology Act of 2000

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Update: Amendments in the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act 2023 to the Information Technology Act of 2000

Varun Sen Bahl

@varunsenbahl1

August 31, 2023

Public Policy

165

On August 11, 2023, the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 was notified after receiving presidential assent. It decriminalizes certain offences, and revises fines and penalties, across 42 laws, including the Information Technology Act of 2000 (IT Act).

We had, in March 2023, submitted our feedback (available here) to the Parliamentary Joint Committee (JC) sitting on the draft Bill on the amendments proposed to the IT Act. In their report on the Bill, the JC had, in their suggestions on IT Act amendments, aligned with our feedback on the need to clarify the proposed amendment to the definition of the “Appropriate Government” in section 2(1)(e). The final Act also reflects this suggestion as it drops the proposed amendment to section 2(1)(e) itself. A list of the other amendments that were made to the IT Act are below:

The JVB has repealed section 66A. This was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2015.
Section 46 of the Act empowers the Central Government to appoint adjudicating officers to adjudicate and hold inquiries in case of contravention of the Act by any person. The JVB clarifies the scope of the AOs to adjudge contraventions under the entire Act. Prior to this amendment, this jurisdiction was limited to Chapter IX.
Section 45 is a residuary penalty in the IT Act – intended to punish contraventions of provisions, rules and regulations for which no other penalty has been separately provided. The JVA raises the maximum penalty to 1 lakh; that both the penalty and the compensation may be levied, and that the maximum compensation is set at 10 lakh, if the contravention is by an intermediary, body corporate or company, and otherwise at 1 lakh, if by any other person. Prior to this amendment, this was capped at twenty-five thousand (all sums in rupees).
Section 33 requires Certifying Authorities to immediately surrender their licenses if they are suspended or revoked, and failure to do so will now result in a penalty of 5 lakhs. Prior to this amendment, non-compliance would have resulted in imprisonment and a fine of ten thousand.
Section 67C requires intermediaries to maintain specified information as directed by the Central Government, and failure to comply may result in a penalty up to twenty-five lakh . Prior to this amendment, non-compliance would have resulted in imprisonment and fines.
Under section 68(2) of the IT Act the Controller can instruct a Certifying Authority or its employee to take necessary actions to ensure compliance with the Act, and failure to comply with such orders may result in a maximum penalty of twenty-five lakh . Prior to this amendment, non-compliance would have led to imprisonment of up to two years or a fine up to one lakh or both.
Under section 72, disclosing any information that has been obtained through the powers granted under this Act to a third party without the consent of the person involved will now result in a penalty of up to five lakh . Prior to this amendment, this would have led to imprisonment and a fine of up to one lakh .
Section 72A now enforces penalties for disclosing personal information, acquired through a contract, without the consent of the concerned person, with fines of up to twenty-five lakh . Prior to the amendment, this would have led to imprisonment and/or a fine of up to five lakh .
Section 44 of the IT Act penalises failure to comply with document submission, filing, or record keeping under the Act resulting in penalties up to fifteen lakhs, fifty thousand, and one lakh respectively. Prior to the amendment, these penalties were lower.
Under section 69B, failure to assist a duly authorised agency of the Central Government with securing online access to traffic data or information, could result in imprisonment of up to one year and a penalty of up to one crore. Prior to the amendment, this was two years and an unspecified fine.
Section 70(B)(2) empowers CERT-In to request information and issue directives to service providers, intermediaries, data centers, corporate entities, or individuals, and failure to comply with these requests or directives can result in imprisonment of up to one year, a fine up to one crore or both. Prior to the amendment, this fine was capped at one lakh .

For any queries, please write to varun@nasscom.in or priyanshi@nasscom.in with a copy to policy@nasscom.in.

it act Jan Vishwas Bill

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Varun Sen Bahl

Manager - Public Policy

Reach out to me for all things about data regulation, cybersecurity policy, and internet governance.