Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Oct 22: In a move aimed at enhancing accountability and transparency, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has announced that only senior government officials will now be authorised to issue takedown notices to social media platforms for removal of unlawful content. The changes come into effect from November 1, 2025.

Under the new rules, only officers at the level of Joint Secretary or above, or in their absence, Directors or equivalent, will be empowered to issue removal orders. In cases involving police authorities, only a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) or higher — specially authorised — can initiate such action.

This marks a significant departure from current practice, where lower-ranking officers, including sub-inspectors, have been issuing content removal orders. The government has formalised the change through amendments to Rule 3(1)(d) of the Information Technology (IT) Rules, 2021.

The Ministry has also clarified that all such orders must now be reasoned, specific, and grounded in law. Takedown notices must include:

• The legal basis for removal,
• The statutory provision being invoked,
• A description of the unlawful act, and
• The specific URL or electronic identifier of the content.

This is intended to meet the "actual knowledge" requirement under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act, which governs the conditional immunity (safe harbour) provided to digital platforms for third-party content.

Failure to comply with such orders could lead to platforms losing their safe harbour protection, making them legally liable for content posted by users.
The Ministry has also introduced monthly reviews of all takedown orders, to be conducted by an officer of Secretary rank or higher at either the state or central level.

Addressing the media, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the changes reflect public and parliamentary concerns, especially regarding issues like deepfakes and online harms. “We’re raising the level of government accountability. Every order will now be passed by a senior officer and include clear reasoning,” he stated.

Vaishnaw also hinted at additional measures to combat deepfake content, including mandatory labelling by platforms.

The move comes amid ongoing legal battles, including challenges from social media platform X (formerly Twitter) over takedown orders issued under Section 79(3)(b). A frequent industry complaint has been the lack of clarity and authority of officials issuing such directives.

According to MeitY, the updated rules tighten due diligence standards for intermediaries, aiming to balance citizens’ constitutional rights with the State’s regulatory powers. The government says the amendments are designed to ensure takedown requests are proportional, lawful, and non-arbitrary.