Plea Seeking Mechanism To Check Fake News: SC Issues Notices To Centre, Twitter

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to the Centre and several social media platforms, including Twitter, on a plea seeking directions for devising a mechanism to check fake news and instigative messages being circulated via social media, Hindustan Times (HT) reported.

The petition was filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vinit Goenka to regulate content on social media platforms. He also sought a crackdown on “anti-India and venomous messages” sent through social media aimed at provoking violence in various parts of the country.

The court has clubbed Goenka’s matter with similar petitions already pending before the apex court.

Earlier on Thursday, Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad asked social media companies to follow India’s laws or face strict action. He added that the government is working on new rules to make companies such as Twitter and Facebook more responsive to directions and accountable to Indian laws.

He said freedom of expression and speech should not be exercised at the cost of abuse of social media platforms for spreading fake news and posts that can spread violence.