Government Strengthens Online Safety for Children with Stricter Action Against Child Sexual Abuse Material on Social Media

The Ministry of Electronics & IT highlighted recent amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, tightening obligations for social media intermediaries to curb child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and harmful AI‑generated content. Platforms must remove unlawful content within three hours of a court order or government intimation and within two hours of a complaint involving nudity or morphed images. Failure to comply leads to loss of exemption under Section 79 of the IT Act and possible prosecution. The government also issued advisories (29 Dec 2025, 16 Mar 2026) and a Standard Operating Procedure (11 Nov 2025) to guide intermediaries on CSAM, non‑consensual intimate imagery, and synthetic media. These measures aim to ensure a safer, accountable internet for children and other users.