The advisory was first reported by tech policy news portal MediaNama .
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on Thursday (October 8, 2026) urged social media platforms to curb “manipulated or out-of-context content,” on top of AI-generated deepfakes that are already liable for takedown notices under amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Liability and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 that were passed earlier this year.
The edict comes ahead of the October 10 protest planned by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), and also follows outrage by Telugu film industry stars around a deepfake video that went viral this week. The Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009 provide for ministries and departments, 65 in all, to forward takedown notices for online content, to the IT Ministry.
“Such content, particularly when presented as current or authentic information, has the potential to cause public confusion, create apprehension, disturb public order and social tranquillity, and contribute to law-and-order concerns,” the advisory said. Platforms were warned to “accord priority to reports/complaints received from authorised government agencies”.
