The Centre has started discussions on a sweeping overhaul of India's social media rules, including a proposal to strip platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and X of the legal immunity they enjoy for content posted by their users. The idea under review is to limit "safe harbour" to services that only carry information. Officials say platforms that use algorithms to rank and push content can no longer claim to be passive carriers. The talks are at an early stage, and any change would need Parliament's approval.
Safe harbour under review
The IT Ministry has begun the discussions, The Indian Express reported. It said the government is looking at confining safe harbour to internet service providers, telecom operators and peer-to-peer messaging platforms. Social media companies that decide what users see would be left out. Two senior officials told the newspaper that the emerging view in government is that platforms exercise editorial control through their ranking and moderation systems.
Business Standard reported a similar line from a senior official. Any intermediary that uses algorithms to rank, promote or suppress user content has an active role in deciding its fate, the official said, so blanket protection needs a fresh look. Only messaging services that do not interfere with content passing between users would be exempt from the proposed withdrawal.
What safe harbour does
Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 shields intermediaries from liability for third-party content, provided they follow prescribed due diligence rules. The Indian Express noted that the protection has underpinned the business models of companies such as Meta, Google and X. It said stripping it would probably require amending the IT Act. The paper said any dilution is likely to meet strong resistance from the tech industry and civil society groups. The ministry, Meta and Google did not respond to its queries.
Months of friction
The newspaper said several developments fed the rethink. These include concerns in a section of the establishment that algorithms have at times amplified Opposition-led or anti-establishment narratives over official messaging. Instagram's role in mobilising support during the July students' protests is also understood to have played a part.
Tensions peaked in July, when the IT Ministry summoned Meta's global policy executives after a video posted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was briefly withheld by Facebook in India. X has separately challenged the government's takedown framework, including the Sahyog portal. The Karnataka High Court dismissed its challenge in September 2025, and the company has appealed.
Supreme Court and parliamentary pressure
The government's thinking has also been shaped by the Supreme Court's October 15 order in the Just Rights for Children Alliance case, according to The Indian Express. The court said loss of safe harbour is too drastic a consequence for routine non-compliance but too weak a deterrent against persistent violations. It called for a separate framework of proportionate penalties, including fines, with loss of safe harbour kept as a last resort.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and IT, chaired by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, has also pushed for tougher action. In August, it recommended withdrawing protection from platforms that fail to comply with Indian law.
Other proposals on the table
The government is also exploring a requirement for social media and messaging platforms to inform authorities before introducing major product changes that affect user safety. The idea follows the ministry's July direction to WhatsApp to halt its planned username feature pending consultations, over concerns about impersonation, phishing and fraud.
A third proposal is a tougher grievance system. Platforms could be required to act on user complaints about deepfakes and non-consensual explicit images, instead of leaving removal largely to their internal moderation.
