Social media giants face “extreme” new deadlines to remove unlawful posts, raising fears of automated censorship in the world’s largest democracy.
The Indian government has significantly tightened its control over the digital sphere, issuing a new mandate that requires social media platforms to remove “unlawful” content within three hours of notification. The directive, which replaces the previous 36-hour window, represents a drastic acceleration in compliance requirements for companies like Meta, X, and Google.
Set to take effect on February 20, the amended guidelines apply to all major intermediaries and explicitly cover AI-generated material. While the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology offered no official rationale for the compressed timeline, the move aligns with a broader trend of increasing state oversight of the internet.
The Rise of “Rapid Fire Censors”
Digital rights organizations have sharply criticized the policy, warning that the logistical impossibility of human review within such a short timeframe will force companies to rely on flawed algorithms.
These impossibly short timelines eliminate any meaningful human review, forcing platforms toward automated over-removal.
The Internet Freedom Foundation described the regulations as transforming platforms into “rapid fire censors.” This concern is echoed by transparency data showing that Indian authorities already blocked over 28,000 URLs in 2024 under existing IT rules citing national security and public order.
SOURCES: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Internet Freedom Foundation, Transparency Reports.
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