The proposed amendments to India’s Information Technology Rules, 2021, would formally bring Community Notes — the user-generated fact-checking tool on X — under the ministry of information and broadcasting’s regulatory remit when they touch news and current affairs, enabling the government to seek removal of content that corrects official claims, an official aware of the matter said.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a ministry of electronics and IT (Meity) official said that when a community note that starts looking like it’s dealing with news, politics or public policy, it could come under scrutiny under the expanded framework. Asked whether a note correcting a minister’s claim or adding context to a policy issue would fall into this category, the official said: “Depends on facts in each case. But it potentially could.”
On March 30, Meity published amendments to IT Rules to bring more online content under Part III of the rules, overseen by MIB. A key part of this is bringing content posted by users on social media — including influencers and even ordinary users resharing content — within MIB’s ambit. Currently, MIB’s purview is limited to publishers of news and online curated content. The proposed expansion would formalise the ministry’s remit over a category of content it does not currently regulate.
Earlier this year, several posts by BJP leaders and ministers on X drew community notes that the government flagged to the platform, according to people aware of the matter at the company.
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These included posts by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Community notes under some of the specific posts have since been removed from the platform.
A community note beneath a February 14 video of Modi speaking at a business summit — which alleged that government policies on social justice for scheduled castes, tribes, and other backward classes violated Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution — was removed from the platform. A note beneath a BJP national account post quoting home minister Amit Shah on deportation of infiltrators, which cited the government’s own record on the issue in Assam, has intermittently appeared and disappeared.
Not all notes on official posts have been taken down. A community note beneath a January 28 post by President Droupadi Murmu — clarifying that as head of state she is constitutionally obligated to serve all citizens, not a particular constituency — remains visible on the platform. In her original post, the President had stated that the government works for marginalised and vulnerable communities.
If the government decides a note is unlawful under the expanded framework, the process would follow the standard route: a takedown or blocking direction sent to the platform, requiring removal or disabling of access within a set time.
The issue involves several question: One is of accountability, since a community note is shaped collectively by multiple contributors rather than a single author. The Meity official said: “That would have to be determined in a court based on who all have contributed. And if X has a role in curation — they also have a liability.” Both users who contributed to a note and the platform could face scrutiny, depending on the case.
The other is whether MIB can regulate it. Community Notes are entirely user-generated and hosted on social media intermediaries. Industry and civil society groups who attended consultations over the proposed changes this week pushed back, with intermediaries questioning their inclusion under provisions that are subject to MIB directions.
The government told stakeholders that intermediaries’ inclusion is to ensure they act as the access point to such content and can help identify users.
Policy experts warn the expansion is poorly scoped. “The proposed expansion of applicability of Part III of IT rules appears wide enough to sweep in even intermediary-hosted, community-driven formats of content resembling current affairs and news,” said Dhruv Garg, partner at Indian Governance & Policy Project (IGAP). “That could raise questions for spaces such as Wikipedia entries or X’s Community Notes, where content is collectively generated and iteratively shaped rather than controlled by any one user or by the platform itself.”
That reading directly contradicts the government’s own characterisation.
IT secretary S Krishnan, speaking to the press on Tuesday after stakeholder consultations at the ministry, described the proposed changes as largely procedural. “These amendments do not in any way give us wider powers… they are only clarificatory and incidental in nature,” he said.
Garg said the ministry needed to clarify its intent. “It would be important for the ministry to clarify the intended scope in the final rules, so that genuinely collaborative and community-moderated information ecosystems are not inadvertently brought within a framework meant for publishers.”
X expanded Community Notes to India in April 2024, allowing users from India to join as contributors. Only notes rated helpful by people from diverse perspectives appear under posts; X says it does not moderate notes unless they break the platform’s rules. That position could be tested under the proposed framework.
The last date for public and stakeholder comments on the proposed changes was April 14; this deadline is expected to be extended by two weeks following pressure from industry and other stakeholders, HT has learnt.
Apart from X, Meta has said it plans to roll out community notes for its platforms — Facebook, Instagram, and Threads — though the feature is currently live only in the United States, with no confirmed timeline for India.
