The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology notified changes that require platforms to remove sensitive online content within two hours, down from the previous 24-hour limit, while unlawful content flagged by a court or government authority must be addressed in three hours instead of 36. Grievance redressal timelines have been compressed from 72 hours to 36 hours overall, with complaints related to nudity or impersonation now demanding resolution inside two hours. The amendments, which took effect on February 20, 2026, form part of a coordinated push to update compliance standards first established in the 2021 IT Rules.
Significant social media intermediaries operating with more than five million registered users in India must deploy automated tools to proactively detect depictions of rape, child sexual abuse or content identical to material previously removed from their platforms. A government notification had earlier set the five-million-user threshold that classifies these intermediaries, subjecting them to heightened due diligence including human oversight of any automated systems to review accuracy, bias and privacy implications. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology framework explicitly ties these obligations to maintaining the integrity of online spaces.
Under the February 2026 amendments, intermediaries are required to label synthetically generated information that includes deepfakes and other AI-altered media appearing authentic, while routine edits and certain educational uses are excluded from the definition. Platforms must inform users about the consequences of generating unlawful synthetic content through their policies and are barred from suppressing or modifying such labels and associated metadata. A Freshfields technology briefing published after the notification detailed how the rules expand the original 2021 framework to cover emerging AI threats.
Non-compliance with the accelerated timelines or detection mandates risks stripping platforms of legal immunity for third-party content under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act. The ministry statement warned that further legal action could follow repeated violations, placing the onus on intermediaries to update internal processes swiftly. These provisions apply uniformly to platforms meeting the user threshold, regardless of their global headquarters.
Deepfake-related incidents have risen markedly in India, with an Observer Research Foundation analysis in January 2026 reporting that 47 percent of adults had been victims of or knew someone affected by AI voice-cloning or deepfake scams, nearly double the global average of 25 percent. During the 2024 general elections and amid 2025 regional tensions, malicious actors leveraged the technology to spread misinformation, according to multiple documented cases cited in cybersecurity reviews. A Gartner survey released in 2026 found that 62 percent of organizations had encountered at least one deepfake incident within the previous 12 months.
The updated regulations also shorten the period for platforms to acknowledge and act on user grievances involving intimate imagery or impersonation, reflecting a broader recalibration of response expectations. Intermediaries must publish monthly compliance reports that detail complaints received and actions taken, including data on proactive removals performed through automated means. These reporting requirements, carried over and strengthened from the 2021 rules, provide authorities with ongoing visibility into platform performance.
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