What are the content moderation obligations in India?

India’s IT Rules 2021 and later amendments impose duties on intermediaries and “Significant Social Media Intermediaries” with more than 5 million users.

Key items include appointment of India-resident compliance officers, 24x7 nodal contacts, time-bound grievance handling, monthly compliance reports, automated moderation tools, and traceability for certain messaging contexts. Appeals can escalate to government-run Grievance Appellate Committees.
 

Amendments in 2023 expanded government powers, including a Fact Check Unit that can label content about government business as false or misleading, which has drawn legal and policy scrutiny. Non-compliance risks loss of safe harbor under the IT Act, exposing platforms to liability.