Modi govt to check anti-India activities on social media

The misuse of social media is a big challenge for the government especially with reference to the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

New Delhi, June 23: The government on Thursday said that steps will be taken to check misuse of social media platforms to disrupt communal harmony and national security.

The Ministry of Home Affairs is in the process of finalising a policy which aims to check if social media is being misused to spread anti-national propaganda and conspire against India.

A meeting was held on Thursday among representatives of central security agencies and the home ministry to discuss various issues related to security on social media.

It's a two-pronged approach. One is to keep an eye on the social media activity of those who might be the target of terror propaganda. At the same time, the efforts should be made to bring them into the mainstream through welfare and employment schemes.

At present, there is only a set of "do's and don'ts" for the social media which needs to be graduated to a full-fledged guidelines that should be adopted on such a network.

The government is also mulling to remove objectionable contents with hate messages, especially those having communal overtones, c from social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook.

The move assumes significance as there have been instances where terrorists were found to be using social media to conspire against the country or to propagate anti-India materials.

There have also been instances where rumours spread on the social media had resulted in violence and tense situation in different parts of the country.

The stake holders are discussing ways to finalise a policy to help intelligence agencies and security forces effectively deal with any propaganda, the sources said.

The infrastructure requirements like manpower and technological needs for monitoring of the social media are also being finalised, they said.

PTI