India, Oct. 22 -- When the government wants a social media post, page or account inaccessible in India, the order goes to the platform, not to the person who posted it. The user usually finds out only when the content disappears or the platform sends an automated message, and often never sees the order itself.

On October 5, 2026, the Punjab and Haryana High Court said this cannot continue under one of the two main takedown routes. A copy of the order must go to the user at the same time it goes to the platform.

The government has two main legal ways to get content removed, and they come with very different levels of transparency. The first is blocking under Section 69A of the Information Technology (IT) Act. It lets the Centre direct an...