Union Minister Anurag Thakur said Thursday that 104 YouTube channels, 45 videos, four Facebook accounts, three Instagram accounts, five Twitter handles and six websites have been blocked for spreading misinformation and threatening national security.
Responding to questions in the Rajya Sabha, Thakur said Section 69A of the Information Technology Act provides for content blocking digital media in the interests of the sovereignty or integrity of India, the defense of India, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States or public order, or to prevent incitement to commit a recognizable criminal offense in relation to any of the above.
He said that under the terms of Part II of the IT Regulations, the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued instructions to block 1,643 user-generated URLs, including webpages, websites, posts and accounts on social media, from 2021 to October -Platforms 2022.
“The government has taken action according to these rules and if necessary, we will not hesitate to take such action in the future,” Thakur said.
Meanwhile, the government asked on Wednesday youtube shut down three channels for making false and sensational claims about various public welfare initiatives and spreading fake news. The three channels were declared peddlers of fake news by the Press Information Bureau’s Fact Check Unit on Tuesday.
“The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has issued instructions youtube to shut down the three channels Aaj Tak Live, News Headlines and Sarkari Updates,” an official source said on Wednesday.
Aaj Tak Live is not affiliated with India Today Group, the government had clarified.
The broadcasters used thumbnails and images of TV news channels and their hosts to trick viewers into believing the news they were sharing was authentic, an official statement said Tuesday.
