**Executive Summary**
This document addresses the issue of trolling and abuse directed at women on social media platforms, presented in Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 888. It outlines the government's existing measures and legal obligations for intermediaries to ensure a safe and accountable cyberspace, referencing the IT Rules, 2021, and the Information Technology Act, 2000. The document also notes the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Government's Objective:**
* The government aims to ensure an open, safe, trusted, and accountable cyberspace for users.
* The government is aware of the risks arising from the misuse of digital technologies, including online abuse and harassment of women.
* **IT Rules, 2021:**
* Obligate intermediaries, including social media platforms, to prevent users from hosting obscene, pornographic, harmful, or harassing content.
* Mandate the expeditious removal of unlawful content within stipulated timelines.
* Require significant social media intermediaries to deploy technology-based measures to proactively prevent the dissemination of unlawful content.
* Require the appointment of a Chief Compliance Officer, Resident Grievance Officer, and Nodal Contact person.
* **Grievance Redressal Mechanism:**
* Requires intermediaries to establish a mechanism for users to raise complaints about violations of the IT Rules.
* Empowers users to appeal decisions of the Grievance Officer if not satisfied.
* **Legal Consequences for Intermediaries:**
* Failure to observe the legal obligations under the IT Rules would entail loss of protection under section 79 of the IT Act.
* Intermediaries shall be liable for consequential action or prosecution under extant laws.
* **Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act):**
* Provides punishment for various cybercrimes, including:
* Section 66C: Deals with misinformation, deepfakes, cheating by personation or identity theft.
* Section 66D: Criminalizes the use of computer resources for cheating by personation.
* Section 66E: Prescribes punishment for capturing and publishing images of private areas without consent.
* Sections 67A and 67B: Addresses publishing or transmitting obscene material.
* Section 69A: Pertains to issuing blocking orders to intermediaries.
* Section 79: Allows the government to issue notice to intermediaries for removing unlawful content.
* Sections 78 and 80: Empowers the Police to investigate offenses.
* **Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023:**
* Provides for processing digital personal data to protect individuals' personal data while allowing lawful processing.
* **Government Advisories:**
* Advisories were issued on 26.12.2023, 15.03.2024, and 29.12.2025 to remind intermediaries of their due-diligence obligations under the IT Rules, 2021.
* Advised on countering unlawful content, including malicious synthetic media and deepfakes.
* **Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C):**
* The Ministry of Home Affairs launched a dedicated portal [cybercrime.gov.in] to report cybercrimes.
* A toll-free number (1930) has been started.
**Impact Analysis**
**Social Media Intermediaries:**
* **Impact:** Increased responsibility and accountability for content moderation, technology deployment, and compliance with legal obligations. Potential loss of "safe harbor" protection under Section 79 of the IT Act if obligations are not met.
* **Action Required:** Implement and maintain robust content moderation policies and mechanisms, including automated tools. Appoint required officers (Chief Compliance Officer, Resident Grievance Officer, Nodal Contact person). Establish and maintain grievance redressal mechanism.
**Users of Social Media Platforms (especially Women):**
* **Impact:** Enhanced protection against online abuse, harassment, and misinformation. Greater avenues for reporting violations and seeking redressal.
* **Action Required:** Be aware of the available grievance redressal mechanisms and report any violations of the IT Rules. Use the cybercrime reporting portal and toll-free number.
**Government of India (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology):**
* **Impact:** Enhanced power to enforce legal obligations on intermediaries. Ability to block access to specific information/links.
* **Action Required:** Continue to monitor and enforce compliance with the IT Rules. Issue advisories and directives as needed. Maintain and update the cybercrime reporting infrastructure.
Key Entities Referenced
Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021: Rules defining obligations for intermediaries regarding content on social media platforms.
Information Technology Act, 2000: The primary law addressing cybercrimes and electronic transactions in India.
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology: The government body responsible for policies related to electronics and information technology.
Section 79 of the Information Technology Act: Defines 'safe harbor' protection available to social media companies.
Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023: Act regarding processing of digital personal data and protection of individual rights.
† O.I.H.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 888
TO BE ANSWERED ON: 04.02.2026
TROLLING OF WOMEN ON SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS
†888. SMT. JYOTSNA CHARANDAS MAHANT:
Will the Minister of ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government is aware of rape threats and organized abusive trolling directed at women
on social media platforms and if so, the details of complaints received since January 2025, platform-
wise;
(b) whether the Government is likely to take strict cognizance of elements who use violent language
against women under the guise of religious identity and employ it as a form of 'protective shield'; (c) if
so, whether any audit is being conducted by the Government to fix the accountability of intermediaries
for preventing sexual harassment arising from obscene or distorted content generated through Artificial
Intelligence (Al) tools; and
(d) if so, whether the Government proposes to withdraw the 'safe harbor' protection available to social
media companies under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, so as to ensure that offenders
do not receive protection?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI JITIN PRASADA)
(a) to (d): The policies of Government of India are aimed at ensuring a open, safe, trusted and
accountable cyberspace for users in the country.
The Government is cognizant of the risks and harms arising from the misuse of digital technologies
including the misuse of social media platforms for online abuse and harassment of women.
The Government after extensive public consultations with relevant stakeholders has notified the
Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (“IT
Rules”) on 25.02.2021 which were subsequently amended from time-to-time to address emerging harms
from misuse of technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The IT Rules cast specific legal obligations on intermediaries, including the social media intermediaries
to make reasonable efforts to ensure that users of their computer resources do not host, display, upload,
modify, publish, transmit, store, update or share any information that is obscene, pornographic,
paedophilic, harmful to child, invasive of privacy, insulting or harassing on the basis of gender or
violates any law for the time being in force. The rules also mandate the expeditious removal of such
unlawful content within the stipulated timelines.Significant social media intermediaries are additionally required to deploy technology-based measures,
including automated tools or other mechanisms, to proactively prevent the dissemination of unlawful
content (rape, child sexual abuse or conduct) and ensure timely compliance with removal requirements,
appoint Chief Compliance Officer, Resident Grievance Officer and Nodal Contact person.
Further, intermediaries are required to establish the grievance redressal mechanism to enable its user to
raise a complaint against the violation of the IT Rules. It also empowers the user to file an appeal against
the intermediaries if his grievance is not resolved within the stipulated timeline or is not satisfied with
the decision of the Grievance Officer of the respective intermediary.
Failure of the intermediaries to observe the legal obligations as provided in the IT Rules would entail
loss of protection under section 79 of the IT Act and the intermediaries shall be liable for consequential
action or prosecution as provided under the extant laws.
Besides, the Information Technology Act, 2000 (“IT Act”) provides punishment for various
cybercrimes such as:
Section 66C - (Punishment for identity theft) deals with misinformation, deepfakes, cheating by
personation or identity theft;
Section 66D - criminalises the use of computer resources for cheating by personation;
Section 66E - prescribes the punishment for capturing and publishing or transmitting the image of
a private area of any person without his/her consent.
Section 67A and 67B makes publishing or transmitting obscene material a punishable offence.
Section 69A - provision pertaining to issuance of blocking orders to intermediaries for blocking
access to specific information/link.
Section 79 - allows the Appropriate Government/ agency to issue notice to intermediaries for
removal of information being used to commit unlawful act.
Section 78 and 80 - empowers Police to investigate offences.
Additionally, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (“Act”) provides for the processing of
digital personal data in a manner that recognises both the rights of the individual to protect their personal
data and the need to process such personal data for lawful purposes.
The Ministry has also issued advisories on 26.12.2023 and 15.03.2024 through which intermediaries
were reminded about their due-diligence obligations outlined under IT Rules, 2021 and advised on
countering unlawful content including malicious ‘synthetic media’ and ‘deepfakes’. A similar advisory
was also issued on 29.12.2025.
The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), Ministry of Home Affairs has launched a dedicated
portal to report cybercrimes [cybercrime.gov.in] and has also started a toll-free number 1930.
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