MeitY Proposes User Participation in Content-Blocking Hearings

MeitY is considering a procedural reform that would allow affected users and internet intermediaries to participate in Inter-Departmental Committee hearings before content blocking orders are finalized. Officials told The Economic Times the move responds to intermediary requests for users to have a formal opportunity to explain flagged content, framing it as part of broader efforts to open government processes. The proposal is linked to draft amendments to the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, which extend regulatory oversight beyond news publishers to all user posts related to news and current affairs, handing the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting authority to block individual user content. The context is significant: MediaNama documented over 40 instances of geo-blocking, account withholding, or takedowns in March 2026 alone, affecting journalists, satirists, and ordinary users. Rakesh Maheshwari, former senior director at MeitY, flagged a structural problem with the IDC itself, noting that requests can flow directly from a ministry to a committee it controls, making the same party both initiator and approver. He added the amended framework shifts jurisdictional responsibility for some user content from one ministry to another without resolving underlying enforcement ambiguity.