The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021
Last updated: April 2026 · Verified: April 2026
Current legal status: Active
Effective from: 25 February 2021
Digital platform information
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Sets due-diligence duties for intermediaries such as social media platforms and other online services.
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Creates additional obligations for significant social media intermediaries, including grievance and compliance mechanisms.
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Includes a digital-media ethics framework for online news and curated audio-visual content.
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Frequently discussed because it affects speech, platform moderation, traceability debates and user complaints.
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Important for startups, publishers, platforms and citizens using social media or online publishing tools.
Level-Based Learning
Choose your depthSimple Explanation
These rules explain what online platforms must do to keep legal protection as intermediaries and how user complaints should be handled.
Why This Law Exists
They exist because the government wanted stronger accountability for large platforms, digital publishers and online content systems.
Real-Life Example
If a user reports illegal content on a social media platform, the platform's takedown and grievance process may be shaped by these rules.
Real-World Impact
For Citizens
What this means for you
Gives users a complaint path against some online platform decisions.
Affects takedown of harmful, illegal or disputed online content.
Raises awareness about speech, privacy and platform accountability.
For Businesses & Startups
Compliance & opportunities
Platforms need grievance, compliance, moderation and documentation workflows.
Digital publishers must understand ethics and self-regulation requirements.
Startups should check whether they qualify as intermediaries or significant intermediaries.
Timeline / Change Tracker
Rules notified
The 2021 rules replaced the 2011 intermediary guidelines.
Amendments and litigation
Changes and court challenges shaped the platform-governance debate.
Further proposals
Policy discussions continued around synthetic media and platform transparency.
