NEW DELHI: Information Technology Act of India, the world's second most populous country and behind only the US and China in Internet users, is "ill-suited" to deal with social media and user-generated content, a report by Global Network Initiative (GNI) said today.

The report, Closing the Gap: Indian Online Intermediaries and a Liability System Not Yet Fit for Purpose, prepared by trade-related affairs consultancy Copenhagen Economics said that online platforms that support user-generated content can contribute about Rs 2.49 lakh crore to India's GDP by 2015.

GNI -- a non-government organisation promoting Internet freedom and privacy rights -- has tech firms like Google, Facebook, Microsoft among its members including civil society groups (human rights and press freedom groups), investors and academics.

"India's Information Technology Act, hurriedly amended in 2008 and updated with rules for Internet intermediaries in 2011, is ill suited to deal with ICT innovations such as social media and user-generated content, with negative consequences for intermediaries and users alike," GNI Board Chair Jermyn Brooks said in the report.

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