From February 20, Social Media Apps In India Won’t Work The Same Way. Here’s What Changes

Over the past few years, deepfake cases in India have been rising and the problem is now hard to ignore. Almost every few weeks, a new case comes up.Whether it’s a creator’s face used in a fake video, a public figure shown saying something they never said or a woman targeted with AI-generated images, by the time these videos are reported and taken down, the damage is already done.As someone who spends most of the day online for work, I see this happening in real time. A fake clip goes viral in minutes. People share it without checking. The victim struggles to get it removed. Social platforms and authorities take hours, even sometimes days. And once something spreads on the internet, it is very hard to fully erase it. This is exactly why the new rules

starting February 20 are important.The government has now tightened the timeline for social media companies including X(previously called Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, Threads, WhatsApp, Telegram, YouTube and others. Earlier, these platforms could take up to 36 hours to act on unlawful content after being notified.

Now in some cases, they will have to remove such content within three hours of being told by authorities. This includes certain types of AI-generated content, deepfakes and impersonation posts.That is a big change.It tells us that the government wants faster action against harmful content especially AI misuse. Deepfakes are no longer a rare problem. They are becoming common. We have seen cases involving gaming creators, influencers, politician, business tycoons and even actors and singers. Some fake videos are used for scams. Some are meant to harass. Some spread misinformation. All of them move very fast online.From February 20, platforms will have to act much faster. They will need systems to quickly detect and remove harmful posts. This may lead to more use of automated tools and AI moderation. It could also mean some posts are removed first and checked later, just to be safe.Times Now Tech reached out to Meta, Google and Telegram for comment but there was no response at the time of writing.As a journalist who covers tech daily, I think the pressure on social platforms to act fast will also affect creators and users. For users, the change may feel small at first. Your apps will look the same. You will still scroll reels and posts like always. But if someone reports a harmful deepfake or impersonation video, action could be much quicker than before. That is the goal -- stop the spread before it goes viral.At the same time, there is also a concern. When deadlines become very short, platforms may remove more content just to avoid trouble. Some genuine posts could get caught in the process. We will have to see how companies balance speed and fairness.Still, one thing is clear to me. India is entering a faster, stricter phase of internet regulation. The focus is on AI content, deepfakes and online safety. The message to platforms is simple: act quickly.From February 20, social media in India will still look the same on the surface. But behind the scenes, everything will move faster. Posts can disappear faster. Complaints can be handled faster. And AI content will be watched more closely than ever before.