UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Remove morphed photo of woman with PM: HC to Meta
Q1. Consider the following statements regarding the exemption from liability available to intermediaries under the Information Technology Act, 2000:
1. The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules, 2011 were framed under Section 79(2) of the Act, while the due-diligence obligations currently governing intermediaries are set out in the 2021 Rules.
2. Once an intermediary satisfies the prescribed due-diligence requirements, Section 79 confers on it absolute and unconditional immunity for all third-party information hosted by it.
3. Failure to comply with the due-diligence obligations under the 2021 Rules can by itself result in an intermediary losing the exemption available under Section 79.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules, 2011 were framed under Section 79(2) of the Act, while the due-diligence obligations currently governing intermediaries are set out in the 2021 Rules.
- Once an intermediary satisfies the prescribed due-diligence requirements, Section 79 confers on it absolute and unconditional immunity for all third-party information hosted by it.
- Failure to comply with the due-diligence obligations under the 2021 Rules can by itself result in an intermediary losing the exemption available under Section 79.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q2. After the Supreme Court read down the 'actual knowledge' requirement governing intermediaries in Shreya Singhal v. Union of India, receipt of which one of the following is the foremost trigger that obliges an intermediary to take down third-party content on pain of losing its exemption from liability?
- A. A written complaint from any affected user routed through the intermediary's Resident Grievance Officer
- B. An order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or a notification issued by the appropriate government or its agency
- C. A first information report registered by a State police station in respect of the content in question
- D. An advisory issued by a self-regulatory body of the concerned industry to its member platforms
Q3. Among the following obligations of an intermediary under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, which one carries the shortest prescribed period for compliance?
- A. Removal of content prima facie depicting an individual in a sexual act or conduct, or any impersonation thereof, on a complaint
- B. Removal of or disabling of access to information pursuant to an order of a court of competent jurisdiction
- C. Disposal of a user's grievance by the grievance officer designated by the intermediary for that purpose
- D. Publication of the compliance report on complaints received and action taken by a significant social media intermediary
Q4. Under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, consider the following obligations:
1. Appointment of a Chief Compliance Officer who is resident in India.
2. Publication of a periodic compliance report giving details of complaints received and action taken, including content removed proactively.
3. Publication of its rules, privacy policy and user agreement for access to or usage of its service.
4. Appointment of a nodal contact person for 24x7 coordination with law enforcement agencies.
Which of the above are correctly identified as additional obligations imposed only on significant social media intermediaries?
- Appointment of a Chief Compliance Officer who is resident in India.
- Publication of a periodic compliance report giving details of complaints received and action taken, including content removed proactively.
- Publication of its rules, privacy policy and user agreement for access to or usage of its service.
- Appointment of a nodal contact person for 24x7 coordination with law enforcement agencies.
- A. 1 and 3
- B. 2 and 4 only
- C. 1, 2 and 4
- D. 3 and 4
Q5. Under the Standard Operating Procedure on Non-Consensual Intimate Imagery, the body that acts as the central aggregator of NCII complaints and maintains the secure NCII hash bank is:
- A. The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre under the Ministry of Home Affairs
- B. The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
- C. The National Crime Records Bureau under the Ministry of Home Affairs
- D. The Department of Telecommunications, which coordinates the blocking of flagged URLs with internet service providers
Q6. Consider the following statements regarding the Standard Operating Procedure on Non-Consensual Intimate Imagery (NCII):
1. While all intermediaries must remove or disable access to flagged NCII content within twenty-four hours of a complaint, significant social media intermediaries must additionally deploy hash-matching and crawler technologies to prevent the reappearance of the same or similar content.
2. Besides the in-app reporting mechanisms and grievance officers of intermediaries, a victim may approach a One Stop Centre for assistance that includes help in reporting on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, legal support and psychological counselling.
3. The Standard Operating Procedure designates the Department of Telecommunications as the appellate authority before which a victim may challenge an intermediary's refusal to remove NCII content.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- While all intermediaries must remove or disable access to flagged NCII content within twenty-four hours of a complaint, significant social media intermediaries must additionally deploy hash-matching and crawler technologies to prevent the reappearance of the same or similar content.
- Besides the in-app reporting mechanisms and grievance officers of intermediaries, a victim may approach a One Stop Centre for assistance that includes help in reporting on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, legal support and psychological counselling.
- The Standard Operating Procedure designates the Department of Telecommunications as the appellate authority before which a victim may challenge an intermediary's refusal to remove NCII content.
- A. 1 only
- B. 1 and 2 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q7. Consider the following statements regarding Rule 3(1)(d) of the Information Technology Rules, 2021 as it stands after its amendment in 2025:
1. An intimation to an intermediary for the removal of unlawful information may be issued only by a senior officer not below the rank of Joint Secretary or equivalent, or, where such a rank is not appointed, by a Director or an officer of equivalent rank.
2. The intimation must specify the legal basis and statutory provision invoked, the nature of the unlawful act, and the specific URL or other electronic location of the content to be removed.
3. Every such intimation is placed before the Grievance Appellate Committee constituted under the Rules for a quarterly review.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- An intimation to an intermediary for the removal of unlawful information may be issued only by a senior officer not below the rank of Joint Secretary or equivalent, or, where such a rank is not appointed, by a Director or an officer of equivalent rank.
- The intimation must specify the legal basis and statutory provision invoked, the nature of the unlawful act, and the specific URL or other electronic location of the content to be removed.
- Every such intimation is placed before the Grievance Appellate Committee constituted under the Rules for a quarterly review.
- A. 1 only
- B. 1 and 2 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q8. Under Rule 3(1)(d) of the Information Technology Rules, 2021 as amended in 2025, a takedown intimation emanating from a police authority is valid only if issued by an officer holding a rank not below that of:
- A. Superintendent of Police, specially authorised by the State Government for this purpose
- B. Deputy Inspector General of Police, specially authorised for this purpose
- C. Inspector General of Police heading the cyber crime wing of the State
- D. Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the district concerned
Q9. Consider the following statements regarding the Delhi High Court's proceedings on the circulation of a morphed image of a woman along with the Prime Minister:
1. Apart from directing the platform to remove the objectionable image immediately, the Court directed the police to give complete protection to the woman, who submitted that she was receiving threats to her life.
2. The woman's plea also arrayed leaders of the Cockroach Janta Party as respondents, on the allegation that they had circulated her morphed picture.
3. Having ordered removal of the image, the Court finally disposed of the plea, holding that no continued judicial oversight of the police was warranted.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Apart from directing the platform to remove the objectionable image immediately, the Court directed the police to give complete protection to the woman, who submitted that she was receiving threats to her life.
- The woman's plea also arrayed leaders of the Cockroach Janta Party as respondents, on the allegation that they had circulated her morphed picture.
- Having ordered removal of the image, the Court finally disposed of the plea, holding that no continued judicial oversight of the police was warranted.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 1 and 3 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q10. Intentionally capturing, publishing or transmitting the image of a private area of a person without that person's consent is punishable with imprisonment up to three years, or a fine not exceeding two lakh rupees, or both, under which one of the following provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000?
- A. Section 66C, which deals with dishonest use of another person's unique identification feature
- B. Section 66D, which deals with cheating by personation by means of a computer resource
- C. Section 66E, which was inserted into the Act by the amendment of 2008
- D. Section 67A, which deals with material containing a sexually explicit act or conduct
Q11. Consider the following propositions about the constitutional position on privacy as settled in K. S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017):
1. A nine-judge Bench held that the right to privacy is protected by the Constitution as an intrinsic part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21.
2. Informational privacy, that is the privacy of personal data and facts, was recognised as an essential facet of the right to privacy.
3. Being a fundamental right, the right to privacy was held to admit of no exception even where a larger public purpose would be served by its infringement.
4. Any infringement of privacy by the State must be backed by a law and must be necessary for, and proportionate to, the purpose sought to be achieved.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- A nine-judge Bench held that the right to privacy is protected by the Constitution as an intrinsic part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21.
- Informational privacy, that is the privacy of personal data and facts, was recognised as an essential facet of the right to privacy.
- Being a fundamental right, the right to privacy was held to admit of no exception even where a larger public purpose would be served by its infringement.
- Any infringement of privacy by the State must be backed by a law and must be necessary for, and proportionate to, the purpose sought to be achieved.
- A. 1 and 3
- B. 2 and 4 only
- C. 1, 2 and 4
- D. 1, 3 and 4
Q12. Consider the following institutions and mechanisms in India's framework for dealing with online harms, along with their descriptions:
1. Sahyog portal — brings authorised agencies across the country onto a single interface for issuing intimations to intermediaries for the removal of unlawful content.
2. Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre — set up under the Ministry of Home Affairs to provide a framework for law enforcement agencies to deal with cyber crime in an organised manner.
3. Grievance Appellate Committee — an appellate forum against the decision of an intermediary's grievance officer, each committee consisting of a chairperson and two whole-time members appointed by the Central Government.
4. National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal — a portal maintained by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, with helpline number 1930.
Which of the above is/are NOT correctly matched?
- Sahyog portal — brings authorised agencies across the country onto a single interface for issuing intimations to intermediaries for the removal of unlawful content.
- Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre — set up under the Ministry of Home Affairs to provide a framework for law enforcement agencies to deal with cyber crime in an organised manner.
- Grievance Appellate Committee — an appellate forum against the decision of an intermediary's grievance officer, each committee consisting of a chairperson and two whole-time members appointed by the Central Government.
- National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal — a portal maintained by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, with helpline number 1930.
- A. 1 and 3
- B. 2 and 4
- C. 3 only
- D. 4 only