Supreme Court issues notice to centre, twitter against Anti-India tweets

The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the Central government and Twitter on a petition filed by BJP leader Vinit Goenka, seeking a direction to devise a mechanism to check fake news and instigative messages being circulated on social media platforms, specially Twitter, according to reports.

In May last year, BJP leader Vinit Goenka had filed the petition to create a mechanism to review Twitter content and hateful advertisements. It also urged to curb fake news revolving around hundreds of fake accounts on Twitter inciting hate propaganda in the nation

In the middle of a huge row with Twitter over the blocking of a number of tweets and accounts, the Centre has prepared draft rules to regulate social media, streaming and OTT (Over The Top) platforms, and news-related sites.

The rules revolve around a self-regulatory mechanism that will include a code of ethics and regular compliance reports.

According to reports, the rules mention the need for a chief compliance officer who will respond on a 24×7 basis to any complaint from law enforcement. There will also be a portal dedicated to grievance redressal and an oversight mechanism.

The Centre will “coordinate adherence to code of ethics by publishers and self-regulating bodies” and develop the oversight mechanism.

The draft rules don’t mention any punishment, however, it states that the sites will have 36 hours to remove flagged content.

A secretary-rank officer will have the powers to take action in case of an emergency and place it before the committee within 48 hours, the report stated.

The Central government on Thursday warned social media platforms of strict action for failure to crack down on inflammatory content, saying they have to fully comply with the country’s law.