Social Media Firms, Streaming Services and Digital News Outlets Face Tougher Rules in India

India announced sweeping rules to regulate social media firms, streaming services and digital news outlets on Thursday, posing new challenges for giants such as Facebook, Twitter, Google and Netflix that count Asia’s third-largest economy as their key overseas market.

Ravi Shankar Prasad, India’s IT, Law and Justice minister, said in a press conference that social media companies will be required to acknowledge takedown requests of unlawful, misinformation and violent content within 24 hours and deliver a complete redressal within 15 days. In sensitive cases such as those surrounding explicit sexual content, firms will be required to take down the content within 24 hours.

Firms will also be required to publish a monthly compliance report to disclose the number of requests they have received and specify the actions they took. They will also be required to offer a voluntary option to users who wish to verify their accounts.

Industry executives have expressed concerns over the new proposed regulation, saying New Delhi hasn’t consulted them for these changes. IAMAI, a powerful industry body that represents nearly all on-demand streaming services in India, said it was “dismayed” by the guidelines, and hoped to have a dialogue with the government.