With less than two days to go for social media giants, including Twitter and Facebook, to comply with the new norms for significant social media intermediaries, the platforms might be facing a ban in the country. The deadline to accept the guidelines will end on May 25, as announced by the government nearly 3 months ago.

In February 2021, the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MEITy) had given a duration of three months to the social platforms to comply with the new IT rules, including appointing at least three officers for grievance redressal and following a specific code of conduct that has been criticised over violating the principles of free speech. Speaking to a news agency, a Facebook spokesperson reportedly said, "We aim to comply with the provisions of the IT rules and continue to discuss a few of the issues which need more engagement with the government. Pursuant to the IT Rules, we are working to implement operational processes and improve efficiencies. Facebook remains committed to people's ability to freely and safely express themselves on our platform."

The Indian government on February 25 released a new set of guidelines to regulate social media and OTT platforms. The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 was reportedly issued amidst growing concerns around lack of transparency, accountability, and rights of users related to digital media, according to a statement by the government.