Reimagining Digital Regulation in India : A New Framework for Online Safety

As digital services evolve, so do the risks they create. Yet regulatory frameworks built around intermediary liability and content takedowns are increasingly inadequate to address the full spectrum of online safety risks, particularly those arising from the design and functionality of services and the emergence of AI-driven interactions.

The challenge is not simply to regulate more, but to regulate better. India needs a framework that aligns the incentives of digital service providers with user safety, while avoiding blunt interventions that are disproportionate to the risks or constrain legitimate expression and innovation. This requires moving beyond a narrow focus on intermediaries towards a more comprehensive, risk-based approach in which intermediary liability protections coexist with proactive, service-level safety obligations.

Drawing on nearly two years of research, comparative analysis of regulatory approaches across India, the EU, US, UK, Australia, Canada, Singapore and Thailand, and consultations with nearly 50 experts across government, industry, civil society, academia and the legal and policy communities globally, this report proposes a new framework for online safety regulation tailored to India’s context.
 
[Brief presentation introducing the report and its key recommendations]
 
The framework is guided by the following foundational questions:

1. Which problems should regulation prioritize? The framework accounts for individual instances of harm arising from online content, conduct and contact, as well as broader “Systemic Risks” that manifest through recurring patterns or structural features of digital services and can cause widespread or sustained harm. The report develops a first-of-its-kind three-part test to identify and assess such risks.
2. Where should safety interventions be targeted? Identifying functionality as a key proxy for service-level risk, the framework proposes a tiered classification of digital services, rather than entities or service providers, based on the functionalities and use cases they enable. It also accounts for reach and impact through a distinct category of “significant services.”
3. What should the interventions look like? The framework proposes three levels of obligations: Baseline, Proactive and Advanced. These are calibrated to service-level risks, with advanced obligations reserved for significant services by default.
4. How should the framework be implemented? It proposes self-classification by service providers, periodic and consultative reviews of systemic risks and corresponding safeguards, by an independent regulator,  and a clear delineation between violations of Safe Harbour preconditions and penalties for non-compliance with Duty of Care obligations.

The result is an implementable blueprint for a more proportionate and predictable approach to online safety in India. By connecting the risks digital services create or amplify to the functions they perform, the report identifies how regulation can move beyond reactive, content-by-content interventions towards targeted safeguards that address the underlying causes of harm, while preserving flexibility for services to determine how best to implement them.

Designed as a shared resource for policymakers, industry and civil society, the framework seeks to make online safety regulation more effective, accountable and responsive to technological change.