Ravi Shankar Prasad: Strict action will be taken against social media platforms, if they violate laws of land

Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad today said, strict action will be taken against Social Media platforms, if they are found to be violating the law of the land, spreading fake news and fueling violence in the country.

Specifically naming Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp and LinkedIn in the Rajya Sabha, Mr Prasad said, they have millions of followers in the country and are free to do business and make money. Mr Prasad, however, said that these platforms cannot be allowed to circumvent the provisions of the Indian Constitution. Replying to a question on the misuse of social media platforms, Mr Prasad said, social media have empowered the common people. He said, they have a big role in Digital India programme. The Minister said, freedom is important, but showing revenge and obscene materials is not acceptable.

Specifically calling out the different standards of a major social media platform, Mr. Prasad said, it allowed circulation of hate messages following the Red Fort violence on 26th of last month. He said, the same platform had displayed restrictive policy following the violent incident at Capitol Hill in the USA.