India
oi-Swastika Sruti
In a span of four months from March to July, the Government of India sent almost 1.95 lakh blocking orders to various social networking websites, averaging out to about one order per every 68 seconds, as per data obtained by The Indian Express.
Between March and July, India issued nearly 1.95 lakh blocking orders to social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, averaging one order every 68 seconds, coinciding with student protests and tighter IT rules.
The increase in the number of directives issued by the Government was concurrent with the massive student agitations in the country over examination irregularities. The agitations had started from Jantar Mantar in Delhi in June.
Instagram has received the largest number of orders, followed by Facebook and YouTube.
Instagram Received Over Half Of The Orders
As per the report, of the 1.95 lakh blocking directions that have been ordered during the five-month period, one lakh blocking directions were related to Instagram.
The number of orders for Facebook was 80,000, whereas, for YouTube, it was close to 15,000.
Instagram and Facebook, which are both part of Meta Platforms, comprised 90 per cent of all the blocking directions ordered against the three platforms.
The above numbers are for blocking orders and not for posts.
Blocking Orders Increased Sharply
The size of the orders represents an important increase from what had been revealed using RTI files previously.
As per the report published by The Indian Express, the RTI files revealed that from October 2024 to October 2025, the government had sent blocking orders amounting to 2,312 to 19 online portals through the Sahyog portal. This amounts to almost six orders a day.
On the other hand, the latest figures reveal that the government is issuing about 1,275 orders daily during the months of March to July.
According to the government official quoted in the report, a good number of the blocking orders were issued during the recent period when student protests were at their peak, especially on Instagram.
What Is The Sahyog Portal?
Many of these directives have been reportedly communicated using the Sahyog portal established by the government for ease in communicating content-blocking notices to online platforms.
Through this portal, government departments can communicate directives to the platform in relation to the removal or blocking of particular content from the platform.
These numbers include those that have been issued by various Central and state governments’ departments.
Meta Automates Government-Ordered Takedowns
The government’s increased use of blocking orders has also affected how platforms respond to such directions.
According to The Indian Express, Meta has integrated its API with the Sahyog portal to meet the government’s mandated timeline for removing flagged content.
This means content identified through government directions uploaded on the portal can be automatically removed from Meta’s platforms without a separate human review by the company.
The arrangement is significant because it reduces the scope for Meta to independently examine or challenge a government takedown request before complying with it.
Orders Are Separate From Section 69A Directions
The blocking directions discussed in the report are separate from orders issued under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act.
Section 69A provides the government with powers to direct the blocking of online information in specified circumstances, including matters involving national security, public order and other grounds laid down under the law.
The latest figures therefore represent a broader set of government directions sent to platforms through different mechanisms.
New IT Rules Tightened Takedown Timelines
The increase in blocking directions also comes after changes to India’s intermediary rules.
In February, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology notified amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
Among the changes was a shorter timeline for platforms to act on certain government or legal requests. The compliance period was reduced from the earlier 24-36 hours to as little as 2-3 hours in applicable cases.
The tighter deadline has increased pressure on social media companies to respond quickly to government directions.
