India proposes making government advisories legally binding on tech giants

India on Tuesday proposed changes to its IT law to make advisories and clarifications legally binding on internet platforms such as Meta, Google and X, the latest in a string ‌of stricter ⁠compliance ⁠requirements for tech giants.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government ​this year compressed the timeline for platforms to take ​down content flagged by authorities to three hours, from 36 hours previously, and has ​imposed new obligations around ⁠AI-generated content ‌and deepfakes.

Currently, the IT ministry's advisories to platforms - on issues ranging from ⁠deepfake labelling to content takedown practices - have functioned as guidance without explicit legal consequences.


In new proposed rules on Monday, the government said non-compliance with advisories or guidelines issued by the IT ministry would be treated as a failure to ‌meet the conditions for safe harbour - the legal shield that protects ​platforms from ​liability for ⁠content posted by their users.

The changes were being proposed to "strengthen enforceability" of directions and "improve legal certainty", ​the ministry said in a notice inviting public feedback by April 14.

Meta, Google and X did not immediately respond to requests for comment.