SINCE the start of 2026, the removal of journalistic content from social media has been on the rise in India and a recent change in rules leaves online platforms with just three hours to take down the content in question, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in a statement on Friday.
Investigative reports on lead-bullet shootings in India-held Kashmir, the forced displacement of communities to make way for a Google data centre project and a student’s account of alleged police violence are being swiftly taken off social media at the authorities’ request, the RSF said in its report.
“In February, new rules came into force that cut the time-limit granted to social media platforms to remove reported content from 36 hours to just three.
“This shorter timeframe leaves platforms little time to carry out a thorough review of requests before removing the content,” according to RSF.
The Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC), a New Delhi-based organisation that works to defend online freedoms, told RSF: “In 2026, there were 40 instances of content takedown and blocking of accounts held by journalists or media organisations.
“However, media reports suggest that the actual number of such content removals might be much higher than recorded.”
The Indian government issued nearly 200,000 removal orders, according to data consulted by the Indian Express. The orders were transmitted via Sahyog, a government portal, between March and July, compared with just 2,312 between Oct 2024 and Oct 2025.
Launched by the home affairs ministry in Oct 2024, the portal enables law enforcement agencies to request the immediate removal of online content from digital platforms and has helped to automate these removals.
“Journalists find it increasingly difficult to challenge these restrictions, owing to lack of transparency about which authority initiated a takedown, under which legal provision and the basis for enforcing the same,” emphasised the SFLC.
The RSF called upon the Indian government to end arbitrary takedown requests targeting the press, make the legal basis for each measure public and ensure there is an independent assessment of journalistic content before it is subject to any restrictions.
The organisation also appealed to Meta, X and other platforms to subject any request concerning a media outlet or journalist to “human and legal review”.
Accounts blocked
Accounts of Kashmiri media outlets and marginalised communities were blocked in February, notably due to content on police violence.
Meta blocked the Facebook and Instagram accounts of three major Kashmiri media outlets – Greater Kashmir, Rising Kashmir and Kashmir Life – without publicly explaining the reasons for these measures.
Published in Dawn, October 10th, 2026
