Government Tightens Online Safety Rules to Protect Children from Sexual Abuse Material and Harmful AI Content

The Union Government has strengthened India’s online safety framework by directing social media platforms and other digital intermediaries to act swiftly against child sexual abuse material, unlawful advertisements, non-consensual intimate imagery, deepfakes and other harmful content.

The government said its digital policies are intended to create an open, safe, trusted and accountable internet for every user, with particular emphasis on protecting women and children. The Information Technology Act, 2000, together with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, provides the principal legal framework for addressing unlawful and harmful content hosted or circulated through online platforms.

The government has taken serious note of reports alleging that advertisements linked to child sexual abuse material were being disseminated through social media platforms. A detailed report has been sought from the intermediary concerned, while the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has also issued notices to the relevant social media platforms.

Child sexual abuse material represents one of the most serious forms of online harm because digital platforms can allow such content to be circulated, copied and redistributed rapidly. The government’s response places responsibility on online intermediaries to detect such material, prevent its continued dissemination and cooperate with the authorities responsible for investigation and prosecution.

The Information Technology Act prescribes punishment for several categories of cybercrime. Section 66C addresses identity theft, Section 66D covers cheating through impersonation using computer resources and Section 66E deals with violations of privacy. Sections 67, 67A and 67B contain provisions relating to the publication or transmission of obscene, sexually explicit and child sexual abuse-related material in electronic form.

Sections 78 and 80 of the Act empower police authorities to investigate offences and take action in accordance with the law. These provisions enable law-enforcement agencies to pursue cases involving the creation, possession, transmission or online circulation of illegal sexual content.

The Information Technology Rules, 2021, impose due-diligence obligations on social media platforms, messaging services, internet intermediaries and other online service providers. Intermediaries must clearly inform users that they are prohibited from hosting, displaying, uploading, modifying, publishing, transmitting or sharing information that harms children, violates privacy, contains obscene or pornographic material, promotes gender-based harassment or breaches any applicable law.

Platforms are also required to establish mechanisms through which users can report unlawful or harmful content. When a complaint concerns material containing full or partial nudity, exposure of private areas or artificially morphed images of an individual, the intermediary must take reasonable and practicable measures to remove the content or disable access to it within two hours of receiving the complaint.

Recent amendments to the Information Technology Rules have further shortened the time available to intermediaries for acting against unlawful information. Social media platforms and other intermediaries are required to remove or disable access to unlawful content within three hours of receiving an order from a competent court or a valid and reasoned intimation from the appropriate government or its authorised agency.

The earlier compliance period of 36 hours for acting upon such lawful directions has therefore been reduced to three hours. The shorter timeline is intended to limit the rapid spread of illegal material and reduce the harm caused when such content is copied or shared across multiple accounts and platforms.

Grievance-redressal timelines have also been tightened. The general period for handling certain user complaints has been reduced from 72 hours to 36 hours. In sensitive cases involving nudity, impersonation, morphed images and related violations, the response period has been reduced from 24 hours to two hours.

Intermediaries must also report offences to the appropriate authorities when the content or conduct involved appears to constitute a crime under applicable legislation. This includes offences covered by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.

The government has also expanded the regulatory framework to address synthetically generated information, including deepfakes and other forms of artificial intelligence-generated content. Such material can be used to impersonate individuals, fabricate intimate images, mislead users or produce abusive and exploitative content involving children.

Under the amended rules, permissible AI-generated material must carry clear labels and traceable metadata so that users can recognise that the content has been synthetically created or altered. Traceable metadata can also assist platforms and authorities in identifying how digital content was produced, modified and distributed.

The framework strengthens user accountability by requiring intermediaries to educate users about the legal consequences of creating or sharing unlawful AI-generated content. Social media platforms must also improve their internal compliance mechanisms and take stronger measures to prevent the misuse of generative artificial intelligence tools.

The rules explicitly cover AI-generated child sexual exploitation material, non-consensual intimate imagery, impersonation and other harmful synthetic content. Platforms are required to take prompt action when such content is detected or reported.

Intermediaries must deploy reasonable and appropriate technical measures, including automated tools and other suitable mechanisms, to prevent users from creating, modifying, publishing, transmitting or disseminating synthetically generated material that violates Indian law.

Significant social media intermediaries have additional responsibilities. They are required to make reasonable efforts to deploy automated tools or other technical mechanisms capable of proactively identifying information that depicts rape, child sexual abuse or related conduct, whether presented explicitly, implicitly or through simulation.

The obligation also applies to material that is identical to content previously removed from the platform. This requirement is designed to prevent illegal material from repeatedly reappearing after being taken down from one account or location.

Significant social media intermediaries that primarily provide messaging services may also be required to enable the identification of the first originator of specified information. Such identification can be sought for the prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution or punishment of serious offences connected with national security, public order, rape, sexually explicit material or child sexual abuse material.

The first-originator requirement applies to offences punishable with imprisonment of at least five years and must operate within the conditions laid down under the applicable legal framework.

Intermediaries that fail to comply with their statutory obligations may lose the exemption from liability for third-party information available under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act. The loss of this protection can expose the platform to legal proceedings or prosecution under applicable laws.

The government has issued several advisories directing intermediaries to strengthen their content-moderation and compliance systems. An advisory issued on December 29, 2025, reiterated the obligation to prevent the hosting, publication, transmission, sharing or uploading of vulgar, indecent, obscene, pornographic and other unlawful material.

Platforms were advised to conduct an immediate review of their internal compliance frameworks, content-moderation practices and user-enforcement mechanisms. They were also directed to ensure continuous adherence to the Information Technology Act and the Information Technology Rules.

A further advisory issued on March 16, 2026, addressed the generation, hosting, publication and dissemination of abusive, defamatory, misleading, derogatory and objectionable synthetically generated information. The advisory reflected growing concern over the use of artificial intelligence to create deceptive or harmful content.

The government has also formulated a Standard Operating Procedure to curb the online circulation of non-consensual intimate imagery. Released on November 11, 2025, the procedure provides guidance to victims, intermediaries and law-enforcement agencies for securing prompt and uniform action against intimate or morphed images distributed without consent.

The Standard Operating Procedure is intended to improve coordination among platforms, police agencies and affected individuals while reducing delays in the removal of harmful material. It also seeks to provide victims with a clearer mechanism for reporting violations and obtaining assistance.

Through stricter timelines, mandatory reporting, automated detection systems, AI-content labelling and enhanced platform accountability, the government aims to reduce the circulation of child sexual abuse material and other serious online harms. The effectiveness of the framework will depend on consistent enforcement, responsive grievance mechanisms, effective cooperation with law-enforcement agencies and sustained investment by platforms in content-safety technology.

The information was provided by Union Minister PIBof State for Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on July 22, 2026.

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Source: PIB

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