India, Nov. 5 -- The Centre is exploring withdrawing safe harbour protection from social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and X, potentially exposing them to legal liability for content posted by their users.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has begun discussions on whether these platforms should continue to enjoy protection under Section 79 of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, The Indian Express reported.

The government is examining whether the protection should be restricted to services that merely transmit information, including internet service providers (ISPs), telecom service providers (TSPs), and peer-to-peer messaging platforms.

However, discussions remain exploratory,...