IT Rules 2021

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IT RULES 2021 NEWS

Government bans five new streaming platforms for showing obscene content, months after banning ALTT Balaji. All you need to know

February 25, 2026 3:58 pm

The newly banned platforms include MoodXVIP, Koyal Playpro, Digi Movieplex, Feel and Jugnu. The action was taken in accordance with the Information Technology Act and the Information Technology Rules, 2021.

The amendments address the rise of deepfakes and AI-generated content, the amendments introduce a detailed definition of 'synthetically generated information' (SGI).

India’s new 3-hour deepfake removal rule: Experts urge strict compliance

February 17, 2026 6:34 pm

New Deepfake Rules in India: The amendments of IT Rules 2021 shorten deepfakes takedown timelines, introduce compliance obligations for platforms hosting synthetically generated information (SGI), three-months user warnings now mandatory.

WIth over 2 billion users worldwide, WhatsApp is the most popular instant messaging apps in India.

WhatsApp’s February safety report: More than 9.7 million accounts banned in India

April 01, 2025 6:56 pm

Out of the total 9.7 million banned accounts, WhatsApp said 1.4 million were banned prior to any user reports.

Bombay HC red line on fake news vs free speech: Judicial review, not Government stamp

September 21, 2024 3:33 pm

The ruling reinforces that independent judicial review and not the Government’s own stamp of disapproval is crucial to determining free speech from fake news. If left solely to the Government, it could blur the lines between propaganda and criticism of it.

Bombay HC strikes down Centre’s Fact Check Unit: Unconstitutional

September 21, 2024 1:20 am

7 months after division bench deadlock, third judge delivers deciding opinion, says terms like 'fake' and 'misleading' are 'vague'

Is it permissible in law to have statute with ‘unbound, limitless discretionary authority’, HC asks Centre on amended IT rules

July 09, 2023 4:20 pm

The court also sought to know whether the online editorial or opinion content criticising government policies would be considered or flagged to be fake and misleading by the FCU.

Before amending IT Rules, govt considered concerns on misleading information: Centre tells Bombay HC

April 21, 2023 8:21 pm

The Ministry clarified that the "Fact Checking Unit" under the amended IT Rules may only direct removal of false or misleading information pertaining to government policies and programmes, not satire or artist impression.

‘Deeply concerned’: Editors Guild urges Centre to expunge amendment to IT Act rules

January 25, 2023 3:48 pm

Determination of fake news cannot be in the sole hands of the government and will result in the censorship of the press, the Editors Guild of India has said in a letter to Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Pakistani OTT app, YouTube videos, now BBC film: How Centre has wielded IT Rules emergency powers

January 22, 2023 8:20 pm

The government has come under fire from the Opposition for directing YouTube and Twitter to take down links sharing a documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots. While Derek O’Brien has accused it of “censorship”, Kiren Rijiju has criticised the “colonial intoxication of some people”.