India Tightens Social Media Oversight: Illegal Content Must Be Removed Within Three Hours

The Indian government has announced that social media companies will be required to remove illegal content within just three hours of receiving notification. This new requirement poses a significant challenge for industry leaders such as Meta, YouTube, and X (formerly Twitter), Reuters reports.

The changes, announced on Tuesday, serve as amendments to the 2021 IT Rules. Previously, platforms were granted a 36-hour window to take down illegal content; this timeframe has now been shortened twelvefold. The new regulations are set to take effect on February 20.

This move reinforces India’s position as one of the world’s most stringent regulators of online content. Experts suggest that in a market with 1 billion internet users, meeting such a tight deadline may be practically impossible.

 "Removing content within three hours is technically extremely difficult for social media firms. This rule limits the ability of platforms to contest orders or properly evaluate the context of the matter," said Akash Karmakar, a technology law expert.

The amendments also address the labeling of Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated content. While a previous proposal suggested a mandatory label covering 10% of the content's area, the new rule simplifies this, requiring that such content merely be "prominently labeled."