The government has proposed amendments to the Information Technology (IT) Rules, 2021, expanding regulatory oversight to include influencers, content creators, and everyday users who post news or current affairs content online. Under the proposed amendments, individuals including influencers and citizen journalists who share news-related content could be brought under the same regulatory ambit as digital news publishers.
This means such users may have to comply with stricter norms traditionally applied to publishers, including content accountability and potential oversight by government bodies. A key provision in the draft allows authorities to review, modify, or direct the removal of content posted online, including by individuals. Influencers posting news or commentary could also face takedown notices or blocking orders, placing them under closer scrutiny than before.
The government’s Inter-Departmental Committee (IDC) can review content shared by influencers and recommend a range of actions. These include issuing warnings, censoring or reprimanding the creator, requiring a public apology, mandating disclaimers on content, or directing them to delete or modify posts to prevent potential incitement to public order.
The proposal is part of a wider regulatory push by the government to tighten control over online content. Recent changes have already reduced the time available to platforms to remove flagged content from 36 hours to just three hours, alongside new rules targeting AI-generated content and deepfakes.
Additionally, the new amendments aim to make government advisories legally binding, meaning non-compliance could result in platforms losing their “safe harbour” protection legal immunity from liability for user-generated content.
