India: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology closes extended consultation on Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Second Amendment Rules 2026

On 7 May 2026, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology closes the consultation on the draft Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Second Amendment Rules 2026, opened on 30 March 2026 and twice extended. The draft amendments would require intermediaries to comply with clarifications, advisories, directions, standard operating procedures, codes of practice and guidelines issued in writing by the Ministry as part of their due diligence obligations under section 79 of the Information Technology Act 2000, would extend the application of Part III to news and current affairs content hosted by users who are not publishers, would expand the mandate of the Inter-Departmental Committee under Rule 14 to include matters referred directly by the Ministry, and would require intermediaries to display a continuous and clearly visible label on synthetically generated information throughout the duration of the content in any visual display. The Ministry will consider the feedback received before adopting the final amendments.