Social media and encrypting messaging services pose a serious security challenge. What measures have been adopted at various…

Social media and end-to-end encrypted messaging services have aggravated internal security challenges by enabling swift radicalisation, disinformation campaigns, cyber terrorism, and transnational crime networks.

Measures Adopted at Various Levels

Globally, normative frameworks such as the UN Group of Governmental Experts (UN GGE) norms, the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime (to which India is not a party), the UN Convention against Cybercrime (adopted December 2024), and emerging platform accountability frameworks foster cross-border regulatory consensus.

Nationally, India exercises powers under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 to block public access to unlawful content. The Information Technology Rules, 2021 mandate significant social media intermediaries to ensure originator traceability (challenged by WhatsApp in the Delhi High Court), appoint grievance officers backed by Grievance Appellate Committees (2022 amendment), and appoint resident compliance officers. Institutionally, CERT-In (whose 2022 directions require incident reporting within six hours), the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and the Sahyog portal for takedown requests coordinate enforcement. The proposed Digital India Act aims to further modernise intermediary liabilities and algorithmic governance.

At the platform level, intermediaries deploy AI-driven content moderation policies, publish periodic transparency reports, and navigate the end-to-end encryption debate to reconcile user privacy with state demands for lawful interception.

Suggested Remedies

First, India should establish an independent, specialised social media regulator to ensure objective, transparent, and non-partisan platform oversight. Second, algorithmic accountability must be made legally mandatory to audit proprietary algorithms that amplify inflammatory content. Third, nationwide digital literacy and cyber hygiene programmes must be scaled to build societal resilience against weaponised fake news. Fourth, international cooperation mechanisms must be revamped, including modernising Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs) to enable real-time cross-border evidentiary access for encrypted crimes.

Moving forward, regulatory remedies must maintain a delicate balance between national security and the fundamental right to privacy, adhering strictly to the proportionality principle established in the K.S. Puttaswamy judgment.