By The Wire Staff
New Delhi: A United States government report has said that takedown orders issued to US social media firms by Indian authorities appear to be “politically motivated”, in what Washington has identified as non-tariff trade barriers, along with frequent internet shutdowns. On March 31, the Office of the United States Trade Representative submitted the 2026 National Trade Estimate to US President Donald Trump and the US Congress.
The Estimate details foreign trade barriers facing US exports. It aims to outline “how the Trump Administration is addressing these non-reciprocal practices to ensure a playing field for American workers”. The report also mentions India’s use of domestic satellites for direct-to-home (DTH) television services, its digital services taxation regime and international roaming arrangements as barriers to trade with India.
Takedowns
The report highlights US companies’ struggles vis-a-vis the 2021 Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. It says:
“The IT Rules also include imposition of impractical compliance deadlines and take-down protocols. Since 2021, U.S. firms have been subject to an increasing number of takedown requests for content and user accounts related to issues that appear politically motivated.”
The report’s spotlight on the IT Rules comes at a time when Indian online spaces are rife with criticism of the Narendra Modi government’s takedown orders.
In the past few weeks, news of takedown orders sent by government authorities to intermediaries such as social media sites like X, Instagram and Facebook, and video aggregators like YouTube, have been a staple.
The orders have targeted news outlets, satirists, comedians, cartoonists and political commentators.
Some takedown orders have invoked Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 which allows the government to block public access to online information in the interest of the sovereignty, integrity of India, national security, public order, maintaining friendly relations with foreign states, or for preventing the incitement of offences.
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