Last week, the ministry of electronics and information technology published a draft amendment to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 that proposes extending broadcasting regulations to news and current affairs content hosted on platforms like Google, Facebook, Instagram, and X by non-publisher users. This means that independent social media users and influencers, who are not publishers but share news and current affairs content online, are expected to come under government oversight. There is no doubt about the fact that India’s rapidly expanding digital content market cannot be expected to operate sans rules. A 2025 report by the Boston Consulting Group revealed that India is home to 2-2.5 million active digital creators. This high volume of content creators thus underscores the need for a robust regulatory framework. Furthermore, India’s creator economy is projected to grow at an 18% compounded annual growth rate, rising to rupees 34 billion by 2026. That is not all. News disseminated by content creators have a wide reach: a 2025 Reuters report showed that 34% Indians consumed news from such sources. The increasing sway that influencers are beginning to have on consumers of news merits government attention. The latter is also necessary to make it an even playing field. Traditional and digital media outlets are mandated to subscribe to the IT rules. Why should influencers be allowed to operate outside such a regulatory framework? This is especially significant since online influencers and personalities were cited to be a major source of false or misleading information by 47% people worldwide according to the Reuters Institute.

However, the legal stipulations that influencers are expected to adhere to should not be turned into a leash. Creativity and individuality define the digital landscape. These critical elements — they need not elude the presentation of news by influencers — should not be allowed to fall through the cracks given the tension that informs the relationship between free speech and government fetters in this democracy. This balance is especially vital because the fraternity of news influencers claims that these days, marked by the docility of the legacy media, the former has a role to play in disseminating information and facts that are often critical of the powers that be. Regulations should therefore aim for a middle ground — guarding against misinformation without hampering the independent voices that news influencers and content creators claim to represent.