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ARTICLE · 23 FEBRUARY 2026

Meity Notifies The IT Amendment Rules 2026

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The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) notified the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2026 (Amendment Rules) to amend the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules).

IndiaMedia, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment
Harsh Walia
Harsh Walia
Ishan Johri
Ishan Johri
Supratim Chakraborty
Supratim Chakraborty
Tanu Banerjee
Tanu Banerjee
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Introduction

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) notified the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2026 (Amendment Rules) to amend the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules). The Amendment Rules come into force on 20 February 2026.

The Amendment Rules regulate synthetically generated information (SGI) and aim to curb deepfakes and misinformation on online platforms. They follow MeitY's draft proposal released in October 2025 (Draft Rules). Our analysis of the Draft Rules is available here.

Taking stakeholder feedback into account, the Amendment Rules adopt a more targeted approach by narrowing the scope of SGI to exclude routine and good faith uses and by introducing enhanced compliance obligations (particularly for Significant Social Media Intermediaries (SSMIs)) including imposition of proactive

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