Central Govt may widen 'social media takedown powers' for Defence, MEA, Home ministries

Under the law; the Union Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity) only handles "takedowns and content-blocking orders" on behalf of the centre.

Expanding the list of ministries such as Home and Defence aims to speed up action against misleading, illegal content and AI-generated deepfakes.

In February this year, the Centre tightened rules for platforms like YouTube and X, mandating takedowns within three hours and clear labelling of AI-generated and synthetic content. 

Section 69A of the IT Act, 2000, allows the Centre to block public access to online content, websites, apps, or social media posts in the interest of national security, sovereignty, and public order. The Government now proposes to give the same powers to Ministries of Home, Defence and Ministry of External Affairs. 

In many countries Defence ministry or various wings of Defence forces are authorized in moral policing for various social media platforms. 

A new set of rules came after the growing misuse of AI to create and circulate deceptive, obscene, and fake content. 

"More tweaking will be a welcome step," remarked a former military commander.