Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad told Parliament on Thursday that strict action will be taken if social media is misused to spread fake news and fuel violence.
Speaking in the Rajya Sabha amid a face-off with microblogging platform Twitter, Prasad said: “We respect social media a lot, it has empowered common people. Social media has a big role in Digital India programme. However, if social media is misused to spread fake news, violence then action will be taken.”
He added, “Work in India. You have crores of followers here. We respect that. Make money but you will have to abide by Indian laws and the Constitution.” The minister’s statement comes a day after the IT ministry expressed its strong displeasure over Twitter’s conduct in the aftermath of Red Fort violence on January 26.
“We have now flagged Twitter. Our department has engaged with Twitter. That’s why I didn’t want to comment on this issue outside and chose the House to raise these questions. What is the matter that when there is violence in US Capitol Hill, social media platforms stand by police investigation but when Red Fort is breached, the same platforms go against the Indian government? Red Fort is the symbol of our pride. We won’t allow these double standards,” the minister said.
On fake news on social media platforms, the minister said that the ministry of information and broadcasting has a cell to bust fake news.
The minister’s comments come amid a protracted battle with Twitter over blocking accounts. India rebuked Twitter on Wednesday for not complying with its orders to take down certain content and warned the social media giant that it needs to obey local laws, even as Indian lawmakers urged their followers to switch to home-grown rival Koo.
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, in a statement, said, “Secretary expressed his deep disappointment to Twitter leadership about the manner in which Twitter has unwillingly, grudgingly and with great delay complied with the substantial parts of the order. He took this opportunity to remind Twitter that in India, its Constitution and laws are supreme. It is expected that responsible entities not only reaffirm but remain committed to compliance to the law of land.”
The government conveyed to the Twitter leadership that the “manner in which Twitter officially allows fake, unverified, anonymous and automated bot accounts to be operated on its platform, raises doubts about its commitment to transparency and healthy conversation on this platform”.
The IT ministry secretary reminded Twitter about the action taken by Twitter during the Capitol Hill episode in the USA and compared that with the disturbance in Red Fort in India and its aftermath. He expressed dissatisfaction over Twitter’s differential treatment in the two incidents.
According to a report in the Times of India, the Centre may arrest Twitter’s top executives in India stating that its list of accounts sought to be censured over “inflammatory content” was not negotiable. The government added that its “patience is running out” over refusal of the company to follow the earlier notice given under Section 69A of the IT Act.
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