Government Proposes New Regulations for Independent News Creators

The Indian government has unveiled a proposal that could significantly impact independent news creators by allowing the issuance of takedown notices for content on platforms like YouTube and Instagram. This draft amendment to the Information Technology Intermediary Guidelines aims to empower the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to enforce compliance and issue blocking orders. Advocacy groups have raised concerns about potential censorship and the implications for digital rights. The public can provide feedback on these amendments until April 14. Discover the full details of this proposal and its potential effects on media freedom.

By Narendra Chaudhary Mar 31, 2026, 10:41 IST

New Draft Amendments to IT Guidelines

On Monday, the Union government introduced a proposal aimed at allowing takedown notices to be issued to independent news creators for their content on platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and X. This initiative is part of a draft amendment to the 2021 Information Technology Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Rules.

The proposed changes would enable the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to recommend blocking orders and require content creators to either apologize or modify their content if complaints are upheld by an inter-departmental committee.

Furthermore, the draft amendments indicate that any advisories issued to social media platforms by the ministry, if ignored, could jeopardize their safe harbour protections under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act.

Revoking this status would render the platforms liable for the content in question.

The proposal aims to enforce compliance from intermediaries with directives, advisories, and guidelines issued by the ministry, which are part of the due diligence requirements under Section 79.

This new proposal is included in a series of changes to Part III of the Information Technology Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Rules, which previously regulated professional media organizations.

The draft amendments will be open for public feedback until April 14.

Additionally, the proposal seeks to empower the ministry to issue blocking orders for news content posted by users not classified as publishers, as well as to social media intermediaries.

An anonymous government official mentioned that if these rules are finalized, the government would be able to request information about news creators from companies and directly issue blocking orders.

The official emphasized that the draft amendments clarify the legal framework surrounding these actions.

The advocacy group Internet Freedom Foundation expressed concerns regarding the proposed amendments, stating they represent a significant shift towards executive-led content control, which could have serious implications for digital rights and platform accountability.

They characterized the proposals as a substantial increase in unconstitutional censorship and regulatory authority.

The foundation urged the Union government to retract the draft amendments, arguing that they grant excessive power to the ministry to issue binding directives that lack legal grounding, such as advisories and guidelines that intermediaries must follow to maintain their safe harbour status.

They asserted that these measures are not rooted in the rule-making authority of the IT Act, 2000, and provide unchecked power to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, despite claims to the contrary.