Several independent media outlets including The Wire, The Caravan, and Deshabhimani have reported that their articles and videos have been withheld in India following takedown orders issued by the Modi regime. In another instance, a Facebook post by former JNUSU President and CPI(ML) leader N. Sai Balaji, highlighting Delhi Police vandalising a portrait of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, was taken down. Several posts by opposition parties and leaders received take down orders.
According to a report by The Hindu, the most recent takedown data from Meta shows that Facebook and Instagram removed nearly three times more content in response to government orders in January–June 2025 compared to the same period in 2023. A recurring pattern has also been noted: content critical of the Prime Minister and the ruling establishment appears to be disproportionately targeted.
The intensity of takedowns increased during the movement in support of UGC equity regulations in February, coinciding with visible state repression of protests in Delhi University, JNU, and other campuses. The simultaneity of offline repression and online content restriction points to an increasingly coordinated ecosystem of control by Modi regime over both physical and digital spaces of dissent.
These developments stand in direct contradiction to the safeguards laid down by the Supreme Court in Shreya Singhal v. Union of India, which clearly mandated that blocking orders must be reasoned, written, and open to challenge. Yet in practice, secrecy has become the norm, and procedural safeguards have been hollowed out into formalities without substance.
Amid this growing wave of censorship, the Modi government is moving to further tighten its control over digital speech. It is reportedly planning to expand takedown powers beyond the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to multiple ministries and government agencies. This would multiply the centres of censorship, making the system even more opaque and unaccountable.
At the same time, amendments introduced in February 2026 under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 have drastically reduced compliance timelines. Intermediaries are now required to act on certain government takedown directions within three hours, down from the earlier 36-hour window. While these changes are presented as measures to tackle issues such as deepfakes and harmful content, in practice they are being deployed against voices that are critical of the ruling dispensation. The compressed timelines leave no room for scrutiny, effectively forcing platforms into immediate compliance under threat of legal consequences.
This trigger-happy use of takedown powers stands in stark contrast to the unchecked spread of bigoted and communal content from the Sangh-BJP ecosystem. Hate-filled narratives, including those amplified by ruling party leaders, escape any action. In one instance, an AI-generated video depicting Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma shooting at a skull-cap-wearing individual circulated widely from his official handle, openly threatening Muslims. Despite complaints, no action was taken by authorities, and the post was removed only after public outrage forced a response.
The exponential rise in takedowns reflects a broader pattern, part of an attempt by the fascist and US-compromised Modi regime to silence and suppress democratic voices, including journalists, students, activists, and political opponents. What is unfolding is the steady construction of a censorship infrastructure designed to shape public discourse by controlling what can be seen, said, and shared. This creates a chilling effect on the fundamental right to free speech and expression, with an expanding regime of surveillance and digital policing that throttles independent press and dissenting voices, which is essential for the survival of any democracy.
