The number of online content blocking orders passed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has doubled in the past one year, with authorities pointing to the surge of deep fakes on social media as well as objectionable posts and content generated by Artificial Intelligence on a variety of platforms. Officials in the Ministry said that currently, roughly 60% of orders for blocking URLs were for content on X (formerly Twitter); 25% for Facebook and Instagram; and 5% for YouTube. While Parliament had, in 2023, been informed that an average of 6,000 blocking orders were being passed by MeitY, senior officials told The Indian Express that this number increased to around 12,600 in 2024 and 24,300 in 2025, both till December. Requests to MeitY for blocking online content and subsequent blocking orders peaked during Operation Sindoor in May 2025 and has remained “very high” ever since.…