Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000
Section 69A is the primary legal provision empowering the Indian government to order blocking of online content. Inserted into the IT Act by the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008, it empowers the Central Government to direct any intermediary to block access to any information if it is "necessary or expedient" to do so in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, defence, security, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, or for preventing incitement to commission of any cognisable offence.
- Only the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) can currently issue final blocking orders under Section 69A — other ministries route requests through MeitY.
- Reports in 2026 indicate proposals are being considered to extend this power to multiple ministries (Home Affairs, External Affairs, Defence, I&B) for faster action.
- The IT (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009 govern the procedural framework — including a Review Committee that must examine orders, though in practice the process is opaque.
- X (formerly Twitter) has publicly stated it disagrees with many of the orders it receives but complies to avoid penalties including significant fines and potential imprisonment of its local officers.
- Blocking orders are not required to be made public — intermediaries are often prohibited from disclosing even the existence of an order.
● Tracked since February 28, 2026 · last seen July 11, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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