The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) issued a strict advisory on December 29, 2025. It told large social media platforms, those with more than 50 lakh users, to actively use technology to find and remove "obscene" and "pornographic" content. This order is based on IT Rules, 2021. Platforms not following these rules will face action, said the advisory. A senior official told The Hindu that the government noticed "there seemed to be more obscene content which [large social media platforms] were missing out on screening." The ministry said these platforms must not allow any "obscene, pornographic, vulgar, indecent, sexually explicit, paedophilic" or unlawful content to be hosted or shared. The advisory warns that failure to follow these rules means losing the "safe harbour" protection under Section 79 of the IT Act. This safe harbour protects platforms from legal responsibility for user content. Without it, platforms could face prosecution. Under Rule 3(2)(b) of the IT Rules, platforms must remove any sexual content involving an individual within 24 hours of a complaint from that person or their representative. This advisory comes after the Supreme Court urged the government last month to act against "obscenity" online. The government has already blocked nearly 25 home-grown OTT platforms with erotic content. The Supreme Court also proposed adding broad rules to ban online obscenity. The advisory ended with a clear warning: "Non-compliance with the provisions of the IT Act and or the IT Rules, 2021 may result in consequences, including prosecution under the IT Act, [the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita], and other applicable criminal laws, against the intermediaries, platforms and their users."