Within a year of getting powers, MHA agency issued 290 takedown notices a day on average for online content

Within a year of being empowered to directly issue takedown notices for online content, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued an average of about 290 such notices every day, according to MHA data.

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On March 13, 2024, the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) was designated as the MHA’s agency to perform the functions under Section 79 (3) (b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

According to the MHA’s annual report for the year 2024-25, published on Wednesday (March 25, 2026), till March 31, 2025, “1,11,185 suspicious online content has been blocked under Section 79(3)(b) of IT Act.”

Though Section 79(1) of the IT Act shields online platforms and social media intermediaries from legal liability for content posted by users, Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act says that the shield will not apply if they fail to take down the content despite being flagged by government authorities.