Kapil Sibal wages war against online India

New Delhi, Dec 6: Union Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal on Tuesday (today) urged Internet firms including Facebook, Twitter, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo to screen alleged derogatory, defamatory and inflammatory contents about religious figures and political leaders like Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the web.

Moreover, in a discussion with representatives from Internet companies, Sibal asked them to find a way to ensure that such materials are not carried as the same was perceived to be provocative and insensitive to the feelings of various communities. Some of the contents were even viewed as insulting and obscene, the executives were told.

Meanwhile, the officials from Internet companies refused to make a commitment beyond saying they would look into any specific complaint that was brought to their notice. However, the government denied that it as a move to censor social networking websites. According to a source, the Internet companies should be "sensitive about community standards in India and it is their responsibility to find solutions to the problem".

Addressing the press gathering in New Delhi on Tuesday (today) said that "We will evolve guidelines. Give us a little time. We do not want to stop anyone, but we cannot allow this type of content." and asked the Internet companies to remove the offensive comments immediately. He further said that govt can't censor websites.

During the meeting with the representatives, Kapil Sibal even showed several offensive pictures of Sonia Gandhi uploaded on a Facebook page.

OneIndia News