UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Dhruv Rathee’s video blocked in India, YouTube tells HC

Q1. Under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, the Grievance Appellate Committee is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. An executive body of a chairperson and two whole-time members appointed by the Central Government, deciding appeals against decisions of intermediaries' Grievance Officers
  • B. A judicial tribunal of a retired High Court judge and two technical members appointed by the Central Government, deciding appeals against blocking orders of the Designated Officer
  • C. A self-regulatory body of industry associations constituted by significant social media intermediaries to review the decisions of their own Grievance Officers
  • D. An inter-departmental committee under the Blocking Rules, 2009 that examines blocking requests and recommends them to the Secretary, MeitY, for approval

Q2. Consider the following statements regarding the appellate mechanism introduced into the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021: 1. The Grievance Appellate Committee was not part of the Rules as originally notified in 2021 but was inserted by the amendment Rules of 2022. 2. The amendment required the Central Government to establish one or more such Committees within three months of its commencement. 3. An aggrieved person must appeal to the Committee within fifteen days of the Grievance Officer's communication, while the Committee must endeavour to decide the appeal within thirty calendar days. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Grievance Appellate Committee was not part of the Rules as originally notified in 2021 but was inserted by the amendment Rules of 2022.
  2. The amendment required the Central Government to establish one or more such Committees within three months of its commencement.
  3. An aggrieved person must appeal to the Committee within fifteen days of the Grievance Officer's communication, while the Committee must endeavour to decide the appeal within thirty calendar days.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q3. Under the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009, the officer designated by the Central Government to issue blocking directions to intermediaries shall not be below which one of the following ranks?

  • A. An officer of the Central Government holding the rank of Deputy Secretary or above
  • B. An officer of the Central Government holding the rank of Joint Secretary or above
  • C. An officer of the Central Government holding the rank of Additional Secretary or above
  • D. An officer of the Central Government holding the rank of Secretary to the Government of India

Q4. As construed by the Supreme Court in 2015, the expression 'actual knowledge' in Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 means knowledge acquired by an intermediary through which one of the following?

  • A. A court order, or a notification by the appropriate Government or its agency, that the material is unlawful
  • B. A written complaint from any aggrieved person asserting that the material hosted is unlawful
  • C. A finding by the intermediary's own Resident Grievance Officer that the material breaches its community guidelines
  • D. An intimation from the intermediary's Chief Compliance Officer that due diligence under the Rules was not observed

Q5. How many distinct grounds does Article 19(2) of the Constitution of India enumerate for imposing reasonable restrictions on the right conferred by Article 19(1)(a)?

  • A. Six
  • B. Seven
  • C. Eight
  • D. Nine

Q6. With reference to the proceedings before the Delhi High Court in 2026 concerning a YouTube video by Dhruv Rathee, consider the following statements: 1. The video was uploaded in March 2026 and the appeal against the platform's grievance decision was carried to the Grievance Appellate Committee later in the same month. 2. The platform's Resident Grievance Officer held the video to be in violation of community guidelines and removed it before any appeal was filed. 3. Google informed the Court that the video had been withheld only within India. 4. The question of restraining access to the video worldwide remains pending before a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. The video was uploaded in March 2026 and the appeal against the platform's grievance decision was carried to the Grievance Appellate Committee later in the same month.
  2. The platform's Resident Grievance Officer held the video to be in violation of community guidelines and removed it before any appeal was filed.
  3. Google informed the Court that the video had been withheld only within India.
  4. The question of restraining access to the video worldwide remains pending before a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court.
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 2 and 4
  • C. 1, 2 and 4
  • D. 2 only

Q7. In the 2026 dispute over the Dhruv Rathee video, which one of the following was the first forum to pass a decision on the complaint, before the matter escalated further?

  • A. The Resident Grievance Officer of the platform, acting under the IT Rules, 2021
  • B. The Grievance Appellate Committee constituted by the Central Government
  • C. The Designated Officer of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
  • D. The single-judge bench of the Delhi High Court hearing the writ petition

Q8. Consider the following statements about the Grievance Appellate Committees notified by the Central Government in 2023: 1. One of them is chaired, ex officio, by the Chairperson of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. 2. Another is chaired, ex officio, by the Chief Executive Officer of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre. 3. Yet another is chaired, ex officio, by a Scientist 'G' of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. One of them is chaired, ex officio, by the Chairperson of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
  2. Another is chaired, ex officio, by the Chief Executive Officer of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre.
  3. Yet another is chaired, ex officio, by a Scientist 'G' of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q9. When the appellate mechanism under the amended IT Rules was operationalised in 2023, how many Grievance Appellate Committees did the Central Government notify?

  • A. Two
  • B. Three
  • C. Four
  • D. Six

Q10. The proposition that unlawful material uploaded onto a platform from within India may be ordered to be disabled globally, while material uploaded from outside India may merely be geo-blocked for users in India, was laid down in which one of the following?

  • A. Swami Ramdev v. Facebook Inc., decided by the Delhi High Court in 2019
  • B. Shreya Singhal v. Union of India, decided by the Supreme Court in 2015
  • C. K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India, decided by the Supreme Court in 2017
  • D. Christian Louboutin SAS v. Nakul Bajaj, decided by the Delhi High Court in 2018

Q11. In the framework reaffirmed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in 2025, notices to intermediaries under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act, 2000 requiring removal of or disabling access to unlawful information may be issued by which one of the following?

  • A. The concerned Ministries and Departments of the Union as well as the State and Union Territory governments
  • B. Only the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, acting through its Designated Officer
  • C. Only the Grievance Appellate Committees constituted under the IT Rules, 2021, by the Central Government
  • D. Only the Ministry of Home Affairs, acting through the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre