New Delhi: Union Minister of State for IT and Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar informed Parliament in a written reply Wednesday that 9,849 social media accounts were blocked in 2020, reflecting a jump of almost 2,000 per cent since 2014, when 471 accounts were blocked.
Chandrasekhar said the accounts were blocked based on the requests of designated nodal officers, adding that the government followed “due process” as outlined in the in the IT (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009, notified under section 69A of the IT Act.
In response to another query, Chandrasekhar said that the government was mindful that the “misuse” of social media is a source of “risk and danger”. He added that to minimise and address harms and to also have “an open, safe, trusted, and accountable internet”, the government had published the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, under the IT Act.
Chandrasekhar told the House that central and state law enforcement agencies can take appropriate legal action, and can also request intermediaries like Google and YouTube to remove objectionable content. The Print
