Civil society groups complain of growing censorship to IT Ministry

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology faced questions from civil society on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, after proposing a rule change that would give the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting greater powers to treat individual social media users as regulated news publishers. In two back-to-back meetings on Tuesday afternoon, IT Secretary S. Krishnan heard from civil society and industry groups representing social media firms; The former expressed concern about increased censorship of viral anti-establishment content on social media.

In a meeting with the ministry at 1pm, social media firms and other online firms requested more time to submit their comments on the draft amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guides and Digital Media Code of Ethics) Rules, 2021. But two meeting attendees said company representatives failed to mention the increase in high-profile censorship of its users. Hindu.

Then, in the meeting held with some civil society representatives, lawyers and think tank representatives, references to censorship increased. Delhi-based digital rights advocate Internet Freedom Foundation said at the meeting that the draft amendment, which would also make it mandatory for social media platforms to comply with “recommendations” issued by the IT Ministry, should be withdrawn and that it was “illegal”.

IFF said that although the meeting was ostensibly aimed at civil society, industry participants were also present at this meeting. “There was very little civil society involvement, with only three to four organizations in the room,” the group said. “This points to a gradual decline in the number of non-governmental organizations working on digital rights in India and a gradually diminishing capacity.”

Many viral posts and accounts mocking and satirizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been targeted with takedown orders by the Ministry of Information Technology in recent weeks. One such username, DrNimoYadav, was restored to its old Twitter name, X, after username operator Prateek Sharma approached the Delhi High Court for relief. Individual posts cited under the hitherto secret blocking order remain blocked for users in India.

Editorial:About digital censorship

The Facebook pages of comedian Rajeev Nigam, Dastak News, Molitics and 4PM News (all independent outlets) have been shut down in recent weeks, along with several posts on Instagram and X. Officials from the Ministry of IT did not make a direct statement regarding these takedowns; Earlier, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had said that there were “AI-generated” posts that deserve this response. Very few of the takedowns appeared to target AI-generated content.

Nikhil Pahwa, editor of tech policy news site MediaNama, told Mr Krishnan at the civil society meeting: “The government’s intention behind the IT Rules consultation is evident in the mass censorship effect. It is an infrastructure for mass censorship.”

Speaking to the press after both meetings, Mr Krishnan downplayed the potential impact of the change allowing the MIB to treat individual commentators in the same way as professional news organisations. While Mr Krishnan acknowledged that what separates an individual user sharing his point of view from a dedicated current affairs commentator is a “grey area”, he said the IT Ministry has “enough on our plate” and that for people outside the government, it makes little difference who sends the takedown notice.