Govt Notifies Amendments To IT Rules To Streamline Content Takedown

The IT ministry (MeitY) yesterday notified amendments to the IT Rules, 2021 to streamline the process for the takedown of content by digital intermediaries. 

Called the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2025, the new rules introduce senior-level accountability and precise specification for takedown of “unlawful” content. 

The new rules will come into effect from November 15. 

As per the new rules, which only pertain to Section 3(1)(d) of IT Rules, any intimation to intermediaries for removal of unlawful content can now only be issued by certain top-level officials. This includes a senior officer, not below the rank of Joint Secretary. 

The previous iteration of the IT Rules merely mentioned “appropriate government or its agency”.

In the absence of a Joint Secretary, a director or an officer equivalent in rank, acting through a single corresponding officer, will be authorised to issue a takedown request. 

The new norms also entrust Police officials to issue takedown orders. In case of law enforcement agencies, a specially authorised officer, not below the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), can issue such intimation to social media platforms. 

In addition, all such takedown orders will now be subject to periodic review by an officer, who is at par or above the rank of secretary of the concerned department. The notification added that this process has been introduced to ensure that such intimations are necessary, proportionate, and consistent with Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act. 

Under the new norms, all such takedown requests have to “clearly” specify the legal basis and statutory provision invoked, the nature of the unlawful act, and the specific identifier (URL) or other electronic location of the content. 

The amendments come weeks after Karnataka’s high court (HC) reportedly dismissed social media platform X’s plea, challenging the Centre’s use of Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act to block content. With the Elon Musk-led platform now planning to challenge the ruling, the Centre appears to be streamlining the framework to thwart any legal issues. 

The notification came on the same day as the IT ministry sought public feedback on the proposed amendments to IT Rules, 2021 to clamp down on deepfakes. As per the draft norms, the Centre plans to mandate all online platforms to label all deepfakes and AI-generated content as “synthetically generated information.”

Additionally, the government plans to put additional onus on major social media platforms to seek declarations from users regarding whether the uploaded content is synthetically generated. These platforms then must implement technical measures, such as automated tools, to verify the accuracy of user declarations regarding AI-generated content. 

Failure to comply with these proposed norms will result in legal consequences and loss of safe harbour protections.