Proposed Amendments to IT Rules Will Enable Govt to Remove Fact-Checking Community Notes From X: Report
New Delhi: With the proposed amendments to the Information Technology Rules, 2021, Community Notes – the user-generated fact-checking tool on X (formerly Twitter) – would formally be brought under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s regulatory remit, which would in turn allow the Union government to ask for removal of content that corrects official claims, reported Hindustan Times, citing an official who is aware of the issue.
Under the expanded framework of the proposed amendments, a community note that starts looking like it’s dealing with news, politics or public policy, could come under scrutiny, a ministry of electronics and IT (Meity) official told the newspaper.
The HT report added that earlier this year, several posts by Bharatiya Janata Party (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.
The persons whose posts drew community notes included prime minister Narendra Modi, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, reported Hindustan Times.
If the government decides a note is unlawful under the expanded framework as per the proposed amendments, the procedure would follow the standard route of a takedown or blocking direction being sent to the platform, which would require it to remove or disable of access within a set time.
On 30 March 2026, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology published proposed amendments to the 2021 IT Rules inviting public comments by 14 April, a comment period of barely fifteen (15) days for changes with far reaching consequences for free speech and intermediary governance in India.
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