India: Social Media

In March 2026, in California, a Los Angeles jury in the case of K.G.M. v. Meta Platforms, Inc., found Meta and Google liable for a young woman’s depression and suicidal thoughts after she claimed that she became addictive to social media platforms at 9-years. The jury found Meta Platforms and Google liable for the depression, anxiety, body image disorders, and suicidal ideation suffered by a young woman who had become addicted to Instagram and YouTube from the age of nine. The jury awarded USD 3 million in damages, Meta bearing 70% of responsibility, Google the remaining 30%.[1]

India's food safety regulator has issued a stark warning to celebrities and social media influencers: verify health and nutritional claims before promoting food products, or face potential legal consequences. As influencer advertising violations surge to over 21% of all advertising complaints, the question of accountability has moved from public backlash to formal regulatory scrutiny, with recent show-cause notices issued to major Bollywood stars.

India's securities regulator has proposed a unified advertisement framework that would replace fragmented approval requirements with standardised post-issuance reporting for financial intermediaries. The consultation paper introduces common principles for risk disclosure, performance presentation and promotional claims across multiple categories of regulated entities. How will this shift from prior approval to retrospective supervision affect compliance practices in India's securities market?

In today’s digital age, having a unique domain name, website, and social media presence is crucial for a brand’s growth and goodwill in the market. The Hon’ble Delhi High Court, in its recent ruling, protected the rights of New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV), one of India’s major media networks, by granting an ex parte ad-interim injunction, restraining the Defendants from infringing its trademark “NDTV” and from using any deceptively similar domain name, website, social media platform, or any other form exploiting the reputation of a well-known registered mark.

A bunch of new things have taken place this past month. India's IT Rules got a fresh set of draft amendments. Karnataka became the first state to propose a social media ban for children. In Los Angeles, a jury held social media platforms liable for their design for the very first time.

On March 30, 2026, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology ("MeitY") has circulated draft Second Amendment Rules, 2026 ("Draft Amendment") to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 ("IT Rules, 2021"), proposing the consequential structural realignment of India's intermediary liability.

On February 10, 2026, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology ("MeitY") notified the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code)...

The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Peoples Union for Civil Liberties & Anr. vs. State of Maharashtra1 directing States to set guidelines and standards...

February 10, 2026 marks a significant step by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology ("MeitY") towards regulating a specific output of Artificial Intelligence ("AI") tools, ...