Draft SGI Rules Threaten Free Speech, Burden Platforms in India

• India's Draft IT Amendment Rules, 2025 (SGI) aim to combat deepfakes and AI fraud but risk over-censoring content.
• The rules' broad definition of SGI, based on creation method rather than harm, could encompass innocuous AI-generated material.
• They shift from a 'notice-and-takedown' to a 'verification-and-monitoring' framework, potentially forcing proactive content scanning by platforms.
• This proactive monitoring could lead to 'label fatigue,' deter legitimate speech, and result in over-removal of content due to imperfect detection tools.
• The rules remove 'Good Samaritan' safeguards, increasing platform liability and potentially suppressing borderline content without due process.