India Strengthens Legal and Victim Support Framework to Combat Online Abuse and Deepfakes Targeting Women

The Government of India has reaffirmed its commitment to protecting women and children from cyber harassment, fake profiles, deepfakes and non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII), highlighting a comprehensive legal, regulatory and victim-support framework to address the growing misuse of digital platforms.

The Minister of State for Women and Child Development, Smt. Savitri Thakur, provided this information in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, outlining the coordinated national response to technology-facilitated gender-based violence.

States Lead Law Enforcement Response to Cybercrime

The Minister noted that under India's Constitution, "Police" and "Public Order" fall under the State List in the Seventh Schedule. As a result, State governments and Union Territories are primarily responsible for the prevention, investigation and prosecution of cybercrimes through their respective law enforcement agencies.

The Central Government plays a supporting role through policy measures, advisories, coordination mechanisms, legal frameworks and financial assistance for capacity building.

Rising Misuse of Digital Platforms Against Women

The Government has taken cognisance of increasing online abuse involving:

• Fake profiles and impersonation of women

• Cyber harassment and stalking

• Deepfakes and synthetically generated content

• Non-consensual sharing of intimate images

• Circulation of obscene and exploitative material

While digital technologies have created opportunities for women in education, employment and access to services, misuse of emerging tools poses serious risks to dignity, privacy and safety.

Inter-Ministerial Coordination Under Mission Shakti

The Ministry of Women and Child Development is working closely with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to combat online gender-based violence.

Through Mission Shakti, the Government has adopted a holistic, victim-centric approach that strengthens safety and empowerment, including protection from technology-facilitated crimes.

Women facing cyber harassment can access integrated support services such as:

• Legal assistance

• Counselling

• Reporting facilitation through One Stop Centres nationwide

Cybercrime Reporting Portal and Helpline for Victims

Under the Nirbhaya Fund, the Government has implemented the Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children (CCPWC) scheme.

Victims can report cyber offences through:

• National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal: www.cybercrime.gov.in

• Cybercrime Helpline: 1930

The Ministry of Home Affairs also runs continuous awareness campaigns through social and mainstream media.

IT Act, 2000 Provides Strong Legal Basis

The Information Technology Act, 2000 remains the primary statutory framework for cyber offences. Key provisions include:

• Section 66C: Identity theft

• Section 66D: Cheating by personation using computer resources (fake profiles)

• Section 66E: Violation of privacy, including NCII

• Sections 67, 67A, 67B: Obscene, sexually explicit and child abuse material

• Section 69A: Blocking unlawful online content

The Act is technology-neutral and applies equally to AI-generated and user-generated content.

Intermediary Rules Mandate 24-Hour Removal of NCII

The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, amended in 2022, 2023 and 2025, impose strict due diligence obligations on intermediaries.

Rule 3 prohibits hosting unlawful content such as impersonation, harassment and sexually explicit material.

Rule 3(2)(b) establishes a victim-centric protocol requiring removal or disabling of access to content depicting nudity, impersonation or NCII within 24 hours of complaint.

Platforms must also appoint Grievance Officers, implement time-bound redressal and comply with Grievance Appellate Committees.

Non-compliance results in loss of safe harbour protection under Section 79 of the IT Act.

SOP Issued in October 2025 to Curb NCII Spread

In October 2025, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued a Standard Operating Procedure under Rule 3(2)(b) to prevent dissemination of NCII.

The SOP mandates:

• Multiple victim reporting channels

• Removal within 24 hours

• Hash-matching and crawler technologies to prevent re-upload

• De-indexing by search engines

• Coordination with Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre

New Measures Planned Against Generative AI and Deepfakes

Recognising the misuse of generative AI tools, MeitY has prepared amendments to the IT Rules, 2021 to further strengthen intermediary obligations around synthetically generated content and deepfakes.

Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 Enhances Privacy Rights

The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 provides a rights-based framework governing processing of personal data.

It mandates:

• Lawful and consent-based data processing

• Strong security safeguards

• Breach notification

• Special protections for children through parental consent

Individuals gain enforceable rights to access, correction, erasure and grievance redressal, strengthening protections against impersonation and data misuse.

Awareness Campaigns and Outreach Nationwide

The Government continues sustained outreach through Mission Shakti, One Stop Centres, workshops and digital campaigns to educate women and girls on:

• Digital privacy and safe online behaviour

• Reporting mechanisms

• Legal remedies under cyber laws

Comprehensive Framework to Safeguard Women Online

The Government said the combined framework of the IT Act, Intermediary Rules, SOP on NCII, advisories, proposed deepfake regulations, DPDP Act, Mission Shakti coordination and awareness initiatives represents an evolving national strategy to ensure accountability of platforms and timely redressal for victims.

This information was provided by Minister of State Smt. Savitri Thakur in the Rajya Sabha in response to a question today.