What are Intermediaries and What is the Safe Harbour Protection Clause?

An intermediary, as defined under Section 2(1)(w) of the IT Act, 2000, is any platform, such as ISPs, websites, and social media, that stores or transmits user data without modifying content. 

Intermediaries enjoy Safe Harbour protection under Section 79, which shields them from liability for third-party content if they follow due diligence and promptly remove unlawful content once notified.

In a recent case, the Delhi High Court warned Indiamart that failure to act on counterfeit product takedown requests could result in losing its safe harbour protection under Section 79 of the IT Act.