Social media platforms are now taking down non-consensual intimate imagery within two hours of a complaint being filed, a significant reduction from the previous 24-hour deadline, according to officials.
The faster removal timeline, reported in May 2026, was mandated by updated IT rules and applies to a range of sensitive content, including deepfakes and material targeting women and children.
Officials noted that compliance among platforms is high under the new framework. However, certain cases still require additional time to resolve. Challenges such as false positives — where content is incorrectly flagged — and material that crosses jurisdictional boundaries necessitate human review, which can affect how quickly content is ultimately removed.
The two-hour standard represents a meaningful shift in how platforms are expected to respond to reports of non-consensual intimate imagery. The previous 24-hour window had drawn criticism for leaving harmful content accessible for extended periods, potentially causing lasting harm to those depicted.
The updated rules suggest regulators are prioritizing faster intervention for content that disproportionately affects women and children. The inclusion of deepfakes — AI-generated or manipulated media — under the same framework reflects growing concern about synthetic content being used to harm individuals without their consent.
While the overall compliance rate is described as high, the acknowledgment of false positives and cross-border content challenges indicates that fully automated removal systems alone may not be sufficient, and human oversight remains a necessary part of the process.
Source: Tech-Economic Times