NEW DELHI — The Indian government has proposed amendments to existing IT rules targeting a wider range of online news voices, including influencers and podcasters on platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and X, drawing sharp criticism from digital rights activists and independent news creators.Last week, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) suggested amendments to India’s IT rules, which govern digital media content.The legislation, dubbed as the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Second Amendment Rules, 2026, will strengthen existing IT rules and curb fake news, hate speech and deepfakes, the government said, inviting public feedback by Apr 14.The move, seen as an extension to the government’s regulatory framework, is meant to include “users who are not publishers” who share content related to “news and current affairs” within a “code of ethics” it currently applies to registered news publishers.In line with the government’s proposal, social media platforms must follow orders and guidelines if they want to keep “safe harbor” protection – a provision giving immunity to social media users.Experts told the BBC that the amendments, when passed, will “potentially give the government more power over news-related posts shared by ordinary users, including independent journalists and podcasters”.Alarmed by the amendments, digital rights activists and independent news creators said the government “could enforce near-total compliance with state-led censorship on social media platforms”.The rules, they fear, could be misused to target critics and crack down on the dissent.Akash Banerjee of The Deshbhakt YouTube channel thinks the changes may lead to a “climate of fear”, forcing many content creators into self-censorship.“Interestingly, despite the many laws regulating online content, hate speech and fake news haven’t reduced in the country,” Banerjee told the BBC.“Meanwhile, posts that are critical of the government, even if they’re satirical, are increasingly being blocked or removed.”The authorities, nevertheless, denied the allegation despite X blocking about a dozen accounts, many known for satirical posts about the government, last month.The actions followed orders issued under Section 69A of India’s IT Act.Kumar Nayan, the user of the X handle @Nehr_who?, told the BBC he received neither prior notice nor an explanation for a block.The account, however, was recently restored by a court order, but “10 posts remain blocked in India pending review by a government-appointed panel”.”I have lost the anonymity offered by social media, which is a double-edged sword but also shields whistleblowers and critics from threats and harassment,” he was quoted as saying.Digital rights activist Nikhil Pahwa said the amendments will “only strengthen the government’s existing infrastructure for mass censorship”.”Keen to preserve market access in India, platforms comply. Citizens whose speech is restricted receive no notice, no hearings, no reasons, and neither government nor platforms can be held to account by a legal system being outpaced by regulatory agility,” Pahwa wrote in a recent article.Defending the rules, MeitY Secretary S Krishnan said the guidelines issued by his ministry are in keeping with the law and the Constitution.There “needed to be a common policy or common framework” to govern news and current affairs’ content as such content is no longer shared only by news publishers but also ordinary citizens, he told the BBC.Meanwhile, a recent US government report noted that since 2021, US social media firms had been subjected to an “increasing number of takedown requests for content and user accounts related to issues that appear politically motivated”.Sandeep Singh, whose X account @ActivistSandeep (with 100,000+ followers) was among those blocked in March, says he began posting critical views after feeling mainstream media was “biased” in favor of the BJP.Singh’s X account remained blocked in India at the time of writing this article.”I stand for the truth and blocking my accounts or posts will not stop me from continuing speaking truth to power,” Singh told the BBC.Nayan says that while he has the means to challenge the blocking orders in court, not every person will be willing to go to such lengths to have their content restored.”In a democracy, people should have the liberty to post what they want, with certain limitations of course, without fear. India is a democracy, so why has it become so difficult to do so?” he says.
Keep Up to Date with our Weekly Newsletter
