Centre is considering empowering multiple ministries to directly order the blocking of misleading, fake or harmful content on social media. The move is aimed at tightening the fight against misinformation and AI-driven deepfakes.
According to Government sources, an inter-ministerial group is currently examining a proposal to decentralise the authority to issue takedown orders, which at present rests solely with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology under Section 69A of the IT Act, 2000.
The proposal, if implemented, would allow key ministries such as external affairs, Defence, and Finance to act independently in their respective domains.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the proposal is aimed to ensure fast response time in tackling fake content, especially deepfakes, before they gain traction online.
He told NDTV that once such content is identified and verified, delays in action can allow misinformation to spread rapidly, underlining the need for faster intervention mechanisms.
Officials said the rationale behind the move is the increasing sophistication of misinformation campaigns, many of which target sensitive sectors such as national security, foreign policy, and financial stability.
By enabling specialised ministries to intervene directly, the government believes responses can be more timely and context-specific.
The proposal follows a recent controversy involving a deepfake video of former Army Chief Manoj Pande, which falsely attributed controversial remarks to him.
The Press Information Bureau (PIB) later flagged the video as fake, attributing its circulation to hostile propaganda networks attempting to erode public trust in the armed forces.
Vaishnaw said that once the video was fact-checked, a blocking order was issued, but noted that a decentralised system could have ensured swifter action.
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The government is now considering amending existing IT Rules — rather than the parent law — to operationalise the change, making the rollout relatively quicker.
Notably, the Centre has already tightened compliance requirements for social media platforms, mandating rapid removal of unlawful or synthetic content and clear labelling of AI-generated material. The revised rules also impose stricter timelines — down to hours in sensitive cases — for platforms to act on flagged content.
Although no formal timeline has been announced, officials indicated that the changes could be introduced through rule amendments once a consensus is reached.
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