The Central Government has proposed changes to the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, aiming to make social media platforms and other intermediaries follow government directions more closely. The amendments would also bring news and current affairs shared by ordinary users under regulatory oversight. Stakeholders can submit their feedback on the draft rules until April 14, 2026.
The ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) introduced the regulations on Monday and invited public comments on the draft amendments until April 14.
Under the draft amendment to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, social media users and influencers who share news content could be held to tighter standards of accountability, comparable to those imposed on news publishers.
“The proposed amendments seek to strengthen compliance with clarifications, advisories and directions issued by the Ministry under Part II, and to enhance the effectiveness of regulatory oversight of content regulation mechanisms under Part III (Code of Ethics relating to Digital Media) of the IT Rules, 2021,” the government said.
The amendment rules propose extending broadcasting regulations to news and current affairs content shared by non-publisher users on platforms such as Google, Facebook, Instagram, and X, thereby bringing this material under the scope of the oversight mechanism.
The Inter-Departmental Committee’s role would also expand, allowing it to review not just complaints but matters referred by the Ministry, strengthening oversight of user-hosted content, especially news and current affairs. The Ministry says the changes are mainly procedural and aim to improve clarity and enforceability.
Under the proposed amendment, rules 14, 15, and 16 will extend to intermediaries, as well as to news and current affairs content that users - who are not acting as publishers host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, store, update, or share on their computer resources.
