The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) notified the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2025. The amendment specifically strengthens the due diligence obligations on intermediaries as well as introduce obligations for ‘synthetically generated information’. Under the previous 2021 framework, Rule 3(1)(d) required intermediaries to remove unlawful information upon receiving actual knowledge either through a court order or a notification from the appropriate government. Upon a review, MeitY identified the need for additional safeguards to ensure senior-level accountability, precise specification of unlawful content, and periodic review of government directions at a higher level. Accordingly, the amended Rules require that any direction for removal of content be issued only by officers not below the rank of Joint Secretary or equivalent, or a Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in the case of police authorities, and that all such intimations clearly specify the legal basis and along with the specific URL of the content.
As per the press release, the Rules will come into effect from November 15, 2025.