Govt reduces 'unlawful' content removal deadline for social media firms from 36 hours to 3 hours

The ministry directed all intermediaries to ensure clear labelling and traceable metadata for AI-generated content.

Updated on: Aug 6, 2026, 21:48:16 IST

By HT News Desk

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The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has reduced the deadline for social media platforms to remove “unlawful information” from 36 hours to three hours after receiving a valid notice from either the government or a court.

The government revised the IT rules in February. (Pexel)

In a bid to tackle the growing threat of deepfakes and AI-generated videos, the ministry directed all intermediaries to ensure clear labelling and traceable metadata for such content so that users can “easily identify synthetically generated material and prevent deception or misuse”.

The directions are a part of the IT rules that were amended in February. “Intermediaries are required to ensure clear labelling and traceable metadata for permissible AI-generated content, so that users can easily identify synthetically generated material and prevent deception or misuse,” the revised rules said.

“It further strengthens user accountability and platform due diligence, including mandatory user awareness regarding legal consequences of unlawful AI-generated content and stronger compliance obligations for social media intermediaries,” it added.

Besides, the guidelines also mandate “prompt action” each time a child sexual exploitation material, non-consensual intimate imagery, impersonation and other harmful AI-generated content is detected.

The ministry has also said that Significant Social Media Intermediaries (SSMIs) must take reasonable efforts to deploy appropriate technical measures, including automated tools or other suitable mechanisms, to proactively identify information that depicts any act or simulation in any form depicting rape, child sexual abuse or conduct, whether explicit or implicit, or any information which is exactly identical in content to information that has previously been removed.

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