IT Act and Online Platforms: Section 79, Sector Rules and Platform Liability

An online platform is a digital intermediary that brings two or more groups together: buyers and sellers, riders and drivers, viewers and creators, players and game operators. Almost every platform is an 'intermediary' under the IT Act, so Section 79 and the IT Rules form their common legal base. But as platforms have grown into the infrastructure of commerce, work and entertainment, Parliament and regulators have added sector-specific laws on top. This note maps the types of platforms, the common base, the sector rules, the rise of competition law, the evolution of platform liability, and the leading cases.

1. The Shopping Mall and Its Tenants

A shopping mall owner provides the building, the lights and the security, and lets shops, cinemas and food courts operate inside. General rules bind the mall owner; each tenant also follows the rules of its own trade, food safety for the restaurant, film certification for the cinema. Online platforms are the mall. The IT Act sets the rules every mall owner must follow; sector laws are the trade rules for particular kinds of business carried on inside.

2. Types of Online Platforms

Ten kinds of online platform

Figure 1: Ten kinds of online platform

Common features. Network effects, dependence on data, algorithmic ranking and recommendation, and a role between users rather than as a direct seller.
Intermediary status. Section 2(1)(w) expressly lists telecom and internet service providers, web hosts, search engines, online payment sites, online auction sites, online marketplaces and cyber cafes as intermediaries, and the definition extends to any person who handles electronic records on behalf of others.

3. The Common Base: The IT Act

Safe harbour (s.79). Protection from liability for third-party content, conditional on a passive role, due diligence and prompt removal on actual knowledge.
Due diligence (IT Rules, Part II). Rules and privacy policy, grievance redressal, takedown on orders, preservation of records and cooperation with agencies.
Security and data. Reasonable security practices (s.43A), CERT-In reporting, and the DPDP Act's duties for Data Fiduciaries.
Blocking (s.69A). Access to a platform or content may be blocked on Article 19(2) grounds; hundreds of apps have been blocked under this power since 2020 on grounds of sovereignty and security.

4. Sector-Specific Rules

Sector laws layered on the IT Act

Figure 2: Sector laws layered on the IT Act

Marketplaces. The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 and the dark patterns guidelines of 2023 govern disclosures, grievance redressal and fair dealing; FDI policy separates the marketplace and inventory models (see Topics 4 and 15)
Streaming and digital news. Part III of the IT Rules, 2021, administered by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, sets a code of ethics, age classification for streamed content and a three-tier grievance system of self-regulation, self-regulatory bodies and government oversight. In 2021 the Bombay High Court stayed Rule 9(1) and (3), which required adherence to the code.
Online gaming. The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, in force from 1 May 2026, bans online money games and their advertising and payment processing, promotes e-sports and social games, and sets up the Online Gaming Authority of India. It has been challenged in the Supreme Court.
Ride-hailing and delivery aggregators. Licensed by States under Section 93 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, following the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
Gig and platform work. The Code on Social Security, 2020, in force from 21 November 2025, recognises gig workers and platform workers and requires aggregators to contribute 1 to 2 per cent of annual turnover, capped at 5 per cent of payments to such workers, to a social security fund.
Payments and lending. RBI regulation under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, including rules for payment aggregators and digital lending.

5. Competition Law and Platform Power

Abuse of dominance. The Competition Commission applies Section 4 of the Competition Act, 2002 to dominant platforms. In October 2022 it fined Google about ₹1,338 crore for abusing its dominance in the Android ecosystem; the NCLAT upheld the penalty in 2023 while setting aside some directions.
Ex ante regulation. A draft Digital Competition Bill, released for consultation in 2024, proposed advance obligations for systemically significant digital enterprises, similar to the EU's Digital Markets Act.
Why it matters. Competition law addresses harms that the intermediary framework does not: self-preferencing, tying, unfair terms for sellers, and exclusion of rivals.

6. The Evolution of Platform Liability

From passive conduit to sector accountability

Figure 3: From passive conduit to sector accountability

Figure 4: The case for protection and the case for accountability

7. The Leading Cases

Figure 5: Cases shaping platform law

📖 Wikimedia Foundation Inc. v. ANI Media Pvt. Ltd. (Supreme Court, 9 May 2025)

Facts: While a defamation suit by the news agency ANI against Wikipedia was pending, a Wikipedia page described the proceedings and the High Court's remarks. A Division Bench of the Delhi High Court directed that the page be taken down.

Held: The Supreme Court set aside the takedown order. Courts, as public institutions, must remain open to public comment, debate and criticism, and a broad direction to remove content describing court proceedings was not justified; any specific grievance could be pursued through appropriate proceedings.

Significance: Courts too must be careful in ordering platforms to remove content, and the free flow of information about the justice system is protected.

Christian Louboutin SAS v. Nakul Bajaj (Delhi High Court, 2018). A marketplace that actively participates in sales is not a mere intermediary and cannot claim Section 79.
Google India Pvt. Ltd. v. Visaka Industries, (2020) 2 SCC 726. The pre-2009 Section 79 did not protect intermediaries against criminal defamation.
Swami Ramdev v. Facebook (Delhi High Court, 2019). Platforms may be directed to remove content uploaded from India globally (see Topic 10)

8. The Road Ahead

Digital India Act. Proposed to replace the IT Act with a framework that classifies platforms by type and risk, rather than treating all intermediaries alike, but not yet enacted.
Classification over uniformity. The trend is towards differentiated duties: marketplaces, gaming, news, AI tools and social media each with obligations suited to their risks.

⚠ Exam trap

Do not answer a question on platform regulation with Section 79 alone. The IT Act is the common base, but each type of platform is also governed by its sector law: consumer rules for marketplaces, Part III of the IT Rules for streaming and news, the Online Gaming Act, 2025 for gaming, the Motor Vehicles Act for aggregators, the Code on Social Security for gig work, and competition law for dominant platforms.

9. Quick Revision and Memory Aids

'The mall and its tenants'. Common base plus sector rules.
'Conduit, harbour, diligence, accountability'. The evolution of liability.
'1 to 2 per cent, capped at 5'. Aggregators' social security contribution.
'1 May 2026'. Online Gaming Act in force.
'Louboutin active, Visaka old 79, Wikimedia open courts'. Key cases.

10. Frequently Asked Questions

Are all online platforms intermediaries under the IT Act?

Most are, because they handle electronic records on behalf of users; Section 2(1)(w) expressly includes search engines, online payment and auction sites and online marketplaces. But a platform that actively participates in the transaction or creates the content may fall outside the safe harbour.

Which laws apply to gig platforms?

Besides the IT Act and the DPDP Act, the Code on Social Security, 2020, in force from 21 November 2025, which recognises gig and platform workers and requires aggregators to contribute to a social security fund, and, for ride-hailing, the Motor Vehicles Act and aggregator guidelines.

11. Related Topics

Topic 15: IT Act and E-Commerce. Marketplaces in detail.
Topic 22: IT Act and Social Media. The most visible platforms.