Question · India IT Rules (SGI)
How fast must synthetic content be taken down in India?
India amended its intermediary rules rather than passing an AI act: synthetically generated audio, visual and audio-visual content must carry a prominent label and embedded provenance, and takedown windows were shortened to as little as two hours.
01 / The answer
The short answer
It depends on what starts the clock. A court order or a reasoned written government intimation requires removal within 3 hours. A complaint from an individual about intimate imagery or impersonation, including artificially morphed images, requires removal within 2 hours. Removal requests under rule 3(1)(b), other than sub-clauses (i), (iv) and (xi), carry a 36-hour window, and other grievances must be resolved within 7 days. These windows took effect on 20 February 2026. An intermediary that misses them risks losing its section 79 safe harbour.
02 / The rule
What India IT Rules (SGI) requires
India amended its intermediary rules rather than passing an AI act: synthetically generated audio, visual and audio-visual content must carry a prominent label and embedded provenance, and takedown windows were shortened to as little as two hours. There is no fine; an intermediary that fails the rules loses its safe-harbour immunity for user content.
- 01Services that can create or share synthetic content must label it prominently; for audio, a prominently prefixed disclosure. No label size is set.
- 02Embed permanent metadata or other provenance with a unique identifier where technically feasible, and not enable removal of the label or metadata.
- 03Significant social media intermediaries must collect each user's declaration on whether content is synthetic, verify it with technical measures, and label confirmed synthetic content.
- 04Remove content within 3 hours of a court order or reasoned government intimation.
03 / Records
Records to keep
- 01Label specifications per surface and format, with prominence rationale
- 02Provenance metadata standard and embedding test results
- 03User declaration records and verification results
- 04Takedown notice log with class, receipt time and removal time
Optional evidence · where Planisphere fits
Keep a record anyone can check
When your team meets a duty, Planisphere can seal the event it reports as a receipt.
A disclosure shown, a review signed, a model change approved: the event your system reports.
The event becomes a sealed receipt, dated and attributed to whoever is signed in.
Paste the receipt into Verify. No account or key.
A record supports your compliance evidence process. It is not a legal finding or a certification. Systems that call Planisphere's gate API can also hold or refuse an action before it runs.
SOURCES
Go back to the source
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
RELATED
Related: India IT Rules (SGI): the full guide · What is synthetically generated information under India's IT Rules?