India warns social media platforms to remove bomb threats or face legal action

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has issued a directive to all social media platforms, urging them to comply with the Information Technology (IT) Rules and the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS). MeitY has asked platforms to make "reasonable efforts" to promptly remove posts containing bomb threats or risk "being held liable."

The ministry cautioned that failure to follow these IT Rules could result in the loss of safe harbour protection under the IT Act. These protections currently shield platforms from legal responsibility for third-party content posted on their sites.