By Our Correspondent

NEW DELHI -  In a move that has intensified a global debate on digital rights and governance, the Government of India has amended its Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, requiring social media companies to remove content flagged by authorities as violative of local laws within three hours, a significant tightening from the previous 36-hour timeline.

The amendment, announced by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, applies specifically to content deemed a threat to national security, public order, or India's sovereignty and integrity.

While the government states the change is essential to combat misinformation; however, digital rights activists, opposition leaders, and international human rights organizations warn it could be used to silence dissent, stifle criticism of the government, and curb reporting on sensitive issues.

Critics argue this rule formalizes a pre-existing trend of aggressive content takedown requests.

According to transparency reports from companies like Meta (Facebook, Instagram) and X (formerly Twitter), India consistently ranks among the top countries globally for government requests to remove content. These requests often cite laws against defamation, hate speech, and threats to public order.

"Reducing the timeline to three hours places immense pressure on companies and effectively forces them into preemptive censorship to avoid legal jeopardy," said Gupta, a digital rights activist.

"This creates a significant chilling effect, where any post critical of the Prime Minister, the BJP, or its policies could be swiftly removed under broad legal justifications."

 Officials, including Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, have stated that the rules are "not about censorship" but about "accountability of platforms to Indian laws."

This policy change occurs against a backdrop of sustained allegations from human rights groups, academic researchers, and opposition parties that voices critical of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, particularly concerning its treatment of minorities and human rights issues, are being systematically suppressed.

Reports by organizations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have documented a rise in violence, discriminatory policies, and inflammatory rhetoric against India's Muslim minority.

Critics allege that legal actions, including the use of stringent anti-terror and sedition laws, have been disproportionately used against Muslim activists, journalists, and critics of the government, while similar actions against Hindu nationalist groups are less common.

 In the region of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, where the government revoked its special autonomous status in 2019, a severe communications blackout was imposed for an extended period. Although some services have been restored, reports of arbitrary detentions, restrictions on assembly, and allegations of human rights violations by security forces continue to emerge from the region.

International media and human rights organizations face significant barriers to independent reporting there.

In recent years, the Indian government has used emergency powers under its IT laws to block entire news websites, including international outlets, that have published reports critical of its handling of farmer protests or the situation in Kashmir. 

- The Opposition's Reaction

The main opposition Indian National Congress party has strongly criticized the new social media rule. Its senior leaders stated, "this is a draconian measure disguised as a regulation. It undermines the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression and gives the government a sledgehammer to crack down on any online dissent."

The tightened compliance window presents a significant operational challenge for global tech giants like Meta, Google, and X, which must now navigate a complex legal landscape under extreme time pressure.

Failure to comply could result in the loss of legal immunity for hosted content and potential criminal liability for in-country employees.

The developments are likely to feature prominently in India's upcoming human rights reviews at international forums. While the Indian government defends its policies as necessary for maintaining unity and security in a diverse democracy, the global community remains divided, with some nations, close to India, viewing the measures as internal sovereign matters, and others, independent states and global human rights organizations, seeing them as a concerning erosion of democratic norms

Reports from human rights monitoring groups indicate that at least 50 Muslims were killed in India in 2025 in extrajudicial incidents, including 27 deaths linked to attacks by Hindu extremist groups on religious grounds and others during security operations.

The data reflects a broader pattern of violence and alleged abuses targeting Muslim minorities last year, which analysts say has contributed to growing concerns about communal tensions and the protection of minority rights in the country.