MeitY issues SOP mandating 24-hour takedown of non-consensual intimate imagery online

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The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) directing online intermediaries to remove or disable access to non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII) content within 24 hours of being reported.

Developed in compliance with directions from the Madras High Court, the SOP operationalises provisions under Rule 3(2)(b) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

The SOP says that victims can now report NCII content through several channels — One Stop Centres (OSCs), in-app reporting mechanisms on digital platforms, the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), or directly to local police stations. OSCs will also assist victims with legal support and counselling.

All intermediaries are mandated to act within 24 hours of receiving a complaint, the SOP said. Significant social media intermediaries (SSMIs) must additionally deploy hash-matching and crawler technologies to prevent the reappearance of the same or similar content.

Intermediaries are also required to report the actions taken and coordinate with government systems such as Sahyoh, part of the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C).

The I4C will function as the central aggregator for NCII complaints and maintain a secure NCII hash bank. The Department of Telecommunications will coordinate with internet service providers to block flagged URLs, while MeitY will monitor compliance and inter-agency coordination.