The Union Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday lashed out at the representatives of various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp over their delay in removing content that instigated the Delhi riots last week in parts of the North- East District.
Officials from the Home Ministry pulled up the representatives and questioned their turn round time and their hesitance in taking down material that was flagged by the police as “inciting”.
A representative from Twitter said that his company seeks to work with the government and build a healthy online platform for the users.
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An official pointed that legal action can be pursued against companies not obeying the decision of the authorities.
MOS (Home) Nityananda Rai had informed the Lok Sabha that the social media sites were being monitored by the police and miscreants will not be spared.
He also informed the house that social media posts were inciting violence and a total number of 21 FIR’s have been registered in this regard.
The violence last week during the communal clashes in parts of the North-Eastern district in the national capital, left 48 people dead and this number is expected to go up in the coming days.
This once again highlights the problem of fake news culture and negative aspects of social media that needs to be reined in at times of calamities.