MeitY issues strong advisory warning online platforms to immediately remove obscene, pornographic and unlawful content or lose safe harbour protection.
Non-compliance could lead to criminal liability, heavy fines, executive prosecution and possible blocking of services in India.
Platforms asked to submit compliance report within 15 days; move follows growing complaints about viral explicit content and concerns over child safety.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on issued a strong advisory to all social media intermediaries, OTT platforms and online publishers, warning them of severe consequences if they fail to promptly remove obscene, pornographic, sexually explicit or otherwise unlawful content. The notice comes amid rising complaints about the proliferation of such material on various digital platforms, including short-video apps, social media feeds and streaming services.
The government reiterated that under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, all intermediaries are required to exercise “due diligence” and remove or disable access to content that is obscene, pornographic, paedophilic, or violates Indian laws within 36 hours of receiving a complaint or court order. The advisory specifically highlighted the obligation to proactively identify and act against such content using automated tools and human moderation.
MeitY stated that failure to comply would result in loss of “safe harbour” protection of the IT Act, exposing platforms to direct liability for third-party content, potential criminal proceedings against executives, heavy financial penalties and even blocking of services in India. The ministry has asked platforms to submit a detailed compliance report within 15 days, including statistics on content takedowns, grievance redressal timelines and measures taken to prevent recurrence.
The warning follows multiple high-profile cases in recent months where obscene content went viral, leading to public outrage, FIRs against platforms, and parliamentary panel scrutiny. Officials emphasised that the government is particularly concerned about the exposure of minors to such material and the potential for exploitation and trafficking linked to explicit content.
Industry bodies have acknowledged receipt of the advisory and said they are reviewing it internally, while some platforms have already intensified content moderation in anticipation of stricter enforcement.
