The Centre is exploring withdrawing safe harbour protection from social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and X, potentially exposing them to legal liability for content posted by their users.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has begun discussions on whether these platforms should continue to enjoy protection under Section 79 of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, The Indian Express reported.

The government is examining whether the protection should be restricted to services that merely transmit information, including internet service providers (ISPs), telecom service providers (TSPs), and peer-to-peer messaging platforms.

However, discussions remain exploratory, and no final decision has been taken. Withdrawing the protection from social media platforms would likely require amendments to the IT Act and parliamentary approval, the report said.

The move comes amid growing scrutiny of social media platforms over harmful content, child safety and the role of recommendation algorithms in determining what users see online.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has sought responses from the Centre and Meta on a PIL seeking a regulatory framework to protect children from algorithmic addiction and online harms.

The petition, filed by Sreerupa Chowdhury, alleged that platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp use features such as infinite scrolling, autoplay videos and push notifications to encourage compulsive use.

It also raised concerns over inadequate age-verification mechanisms, online grooming and the circulation of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

The SC separately questioned whether existing legal protections are adequate to address the circulation of child sexual exploitation and abuse material on social media platforms.

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