MeitY proposes amendments to IT Rules, 2021 to mandate compliance with Ministry directions

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (“MeitY”) has released draft amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (“IT Rules, 2021”), along with additional changes, and has invited stakeholder comments on the proposed revisions.

The Draft amendment were initially published for stakeholder consultation on 30th March, 2026 and the timeline for submission of comments has now been extended till 7th May 2026. Comments and suggestions on the Draft should be mailed at itrules.consultation@meity.gov.in in a rule-wise manner via email in MS Word or PDF format. The proposed amendments introduce clarifications to existing provisions under the IT Rules, 2021 and expand intermediary obligations, particularly in relation to compliance with Ministry-issued directions, handling of synthetically generated information, and oversight of digital media content.

Key Highlights:

1. The amendments propose to clarify that obligations relating to preservation and retention of information by intermediaries will continue to apply alongside requirements under the IT Act and other applicable laws, by expressly inserting such clarification within due diligence provisions.
2. Intermediaries are proposed to be required to comply with clarifications, advisories, orders, directions, standard operating procedures, codes of practice and guidelines issued by MeitY, with such compliance forming part of due diligence obligations for safe harbour protection.
3. The amendments propose to prescribe minimum conditions for issuance of such directions, including requirement of written form, specification of legal basis, scope and applicability, and consistency with the parent Act and rules.
4. In relation to synthetically generated information, the amendments propose to require continuous and clearly visible labelling throughout the duration of such content in visual displays, replacing the earlier requirement of only prominent visibility.
5. The applicability of digital media provisions is proposed to be expanded to expressly cover intermediaries hosting or enabling access to news and current affairs content uploaded by users who are not publishers, thereby bringing such content within the regulatory framework for grievance redressal and oversight.
6. The scope of the Inter-Departmental Committee is proposed to be broadened to include examination of matters referred by the Ministry in addition to grievances arising from the three-tier grievance redressal mechanism.
7. Consequential changes are proposed to align procedural provisions relating to the Committee, including modification of its mandate from dealing only with complaints or grievances to examining matters and issuing recommendations to the Ministry.

Source: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology