In a significant regulatory move, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has issued a stern warning to the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, citing critical failures in moderating harmful AI-generated content. The government has given the Elon Musk-owned company a strict 72-hour deadline to comply with its directives or risk severe legal consequences.
The Core Allegations: AI Tools Misused Against Women
The ministry's letter, addressed to X's Chief Compliance Officer for India, highlights grave concerns regarding the misuse of the platform's integrated AI service, Grok. According to MeitY, this tool has been leveraged by users to create, publish, and share obscene, vulgar, and non-consensual images and videos of women. The content is reportedly aimed at indecently denigrating them, violating their dignity and privacy.
The letter specifies that the misuse is not limited to fake accounts. It also targets women who host their own content on the platform, through methods involving prompts, image manipulation, and synthetic AI outputs. The government views this as a "serious failure of platform-level safeguards" and a gross misuse of artificial intelligence technologies.
Legal Framework and Non-Compliance
MeitY asserts that X is not adhering to the regulatory provisions under the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the IT Rules, 2021. The platform's alleged inaction violates laws concerning obscene, pornographic, and harmful content, which are designed to protect the safety of women and children in digital spaces.
The ministry reminded X that as a Significant Social Media Intermediary, its compliance with Indian law is not optional. Its statutory immunity from liability under Section 79 of the IT Act is conditional upon strict observance of due diligence obligations outlined in the IT Rules. Failure to meet these obligations will result in the loss of this legal protection.
The 72-Hour Ultimatum and Directives
The government has issued a clear set of directives that X must follow immediately. The platform is required to submit a detailed Action Taken Report (ATR) to the ministry within 72 hours of receiving the letter, dated 29th December 2025.
The key orders include:
- Conducting an immediate technical review of the Grok AI application to ensure it does not generate or facilitate unlawful content.
- Enforcing user terms of service and taking strong deterrent action, like suspension, against violating accounts.
- Removing or disabling access to all illegal content already on the platform without delay.
- Ensuring ongoing, auditable compliance with all due diligence obligations under Indian law.
The letter warns that non-compliance may lead to "strict legal consequences" against the platform, its responsible officers, and the violating users, under laws including the IT Act, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act.
The joint secretary for Cyber Laws at MeitY, Ajit Kumar, signed the communication, which was issued with the approval of the competent authority. This action underscores the Indian government's increasing focus on holding social media and AI platforms accountable for content moderation, especially when it threatens user safety and national law.
