According to a new order issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the government has set a 3-hour deadline for social media platforms to remove content flagged by authorities for violating local laws. The earlier deadline was 36 hours as the new rules will come into effect from February 20, 2026.
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As the government tightens rules around handling AI-generated and synthetic content, including deepfakes, on social media platforms like X and Instagram, the new rules also include mandatory labeling of AI content, the news agency reported. PTI Report
AI-generated content will be treated at par with other data for determining illegal acts under IT rules.
The government has notified amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Code of Ethics) Rules, 2021, which formally defines AI-generated and synthetic content.
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The amendments define “audio, visual or audio-visual information” and “artificially generated information”, covering AI-generated or modified content that appears real or authentic. Routine editing, accessibility improvements, and good faith educational or design work are excluded from this definition.
Intermediaries that enable tools to create or promote “synthetic content” must ensure that such content carries a clear and prominent label. Where technically feasible, platforms are required to embed persistent metadata or provenance identifiers to trace the source of such content, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said in a notification.
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“Artificially generated information means audio, visual or audio-visual information that is artificially or algorithmically created, created, modified or altered using computer resources in such a way that such information appears to be real, authentic or true and portrays or portrays a person or event in a way that might be from a person or natural. Real-world event,” the notice said.
Calling for a ban on illegal AI content, it said platforms must deploy automated tools to prevent AI content that is illegal, fraudulent, sexually exploitative, objectionable, or related to false documents, child abuse content, explosives or impersonation.
