India has sharply reduced the time social media platforms have to remove unlawful content, under new rules that critics warn will entrench censorship.
The IT ministry on Tuesday published an amendment to 2021 laws governing social media that cuts the deadline companies have to act on official takedown notices to “within three hours”. Previously businesses had 36 hours to do so.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration has been tightening oversight of online content, including AI-generated material.
The Internet Freedom Foundation, a digital rights group, warned that the compressed timeline would accelerate censorship, “transforming intermediaries into rapid fire censors”.
“It is notable that in many of these censorship actions a copy of the notice or hearing is never provided to the person whose content is removed,” said the advocacy group. “Hence, the entire process is secretive and in violation of natural justice.”
New Delhi has been tightening regulations in the country of 1.4bn, where X, Meta and YouTube have large audiences.
Social media companies have faced a rising volume of takedown requests across the world, while countries including India have enacted stringent laws that critics say can be used to silence dissent. Sanctions for non-compliance range from heavy fines to the threat of criminal liability for local executives.
US tech groups have been drawn by India’s massive market but have struggled to navigate its complex regulatory environment. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, restricted a record 28,000 pieces of content in India in the first half of 2025, according to its transparency disclosures.
X’s owner Elon Musk has adopted a confrontational tone, publicly challenging what he describes as censorship efforts in countries including Brazil, Australia and India.
His social media company has published takedown requests from authorities, including India’s election commission, while complying with them and stating its objections.
Musk has previously said the platform has little choice but to comply in India, where earlier resistance in 2021 was followed by tougher rules and the prospect of criminal liability for social media executives.
YouTube owner Google, Meta and X did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
