The Minister of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITy) Ravi Shankar Prasad responded to a question about action taken by the government on complaints regarding the misuse of social media platforms. The question was asked by Mitesh Patel and Shardaben Patel, members of Lok Sabha.
The Ministry, in its written response, stated that under section 69A of the Information technology Act it can block unlawful and malicious online content, in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign states or public order or for preventing incitement to the commission of any cognisable offence in relation to these.
It stated that in 2017, it blocked 1,385 URLs/accounts/webpages and this number had exponentially increased to 9,849 webpages/accounts in 2020. The ministry had blocked 2,799 webpages in 2018 and 3,603 in the year 2019.
SabrangIndia’s sister organisation Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) has filed quite a few complaints with MEITy with respect to objectionable content online. In October, 2020 a complaint was filed against Best Hindi News, a news channel that has used its social media platforms to share highly inflammatory videos that not only spread misinformation and ignite hate against the Hathras rape victim and her family, but also promote caste supremacy. Further, in November 2020, a complaint was filed against BJP leader Kapil Mishra for using his Twitter account to circulate a google form for his followers to fill and become a part of “Hindu Ecosystem Team” to work together and build the “right” narrative in the media. Twitter had declared the membership link “potentially unsafe” and “violent or misleading content that could lead to real world harm.”
Recently, CJP has sent a complaint against Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati, for making virulently Islamophobic and anti-minority speeches on YouTube. CJP has not received any response on any of its complaints yet and the content continues to remain on the internet.
MEITY’s response may be read here
Related:
CJP approaches MEITY and Minority Affairs Ministry against Yati Narsinghanand
CJP in Action: Bringing hate-mongering news media to justice
CJP moves MEITY against Kapil Mishra’s anti-minority activity online
CJP moves MEITY against news channel for promoting caste supremacy in Hathras case