India Imposes Three-Hour Social Media Takedown Rule
- tech360.tv
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
India's government has mandated that social media companies must remove unlawful content within three hours of notification. This significantly tightens the previous 36-hour timeline, presenting a compliance challenge for major platforms.
The new regulations amend India's 2021 information technology rules and will take effect from Feb. 20. These rules have been a point of contention between Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration and global technology companies.
The move reinforces India's position as one of the world's most aggressive regulators of online content. Platforms must balance compliance in a market with 1 billion internet users against rising concerns over government censorship.
Akash Karmakar, a partner at Indian law firm Panag & Babu specialising in technology law, stated that it is "practically impossible for social media firms to remove content in three hours." Karmakar added that this "assumes no application of mind or real-world ability to resist compliance."
India has taken many steps to control online speech, empowering scores of officers in recent years to order content removal. This approach has drawn criticism from digital rights advocates and led to clashes with companies, including Elon Musk's X.
India's IT rules empower the government to order content removal if it is deemed illegal under any of its laws, including those related to national security, and public order. The government directive did not provide a reason for the timeline change.
Transparency reports indicate India has issued thousands of takedown orders in recent years. Meta alone restricted over 28,000 pieces of content in India during the first six months of 2025 following government requests.
A social media executive noted that this rule was implemented without consultation, adding that international standards typically provide a longer timeline for content removal.
The amended rules also relaxed an earlier proposal regarding AI-generated content. Instead of requiring platforms to visibly label such content across 10% of its surface area or duration, the new rules mandate that it be "prominently labelled."
India's government has introduced a new three-hour deadline for social media companies to remove unlawful content after notification.
This new rule, effective from Feb. 20, amends India's existing 2021 IT regulations.
Legal experts express concern, calling the three-hour takedown timeline "practically impossible" for social media platforms to meet.
Source: REUTERS
