The Ministry of Electronics and Data Know-how (MeitY) has issued an advisory highlighting the accountability of intermediaries, together with social media platforms, to curb the unfold of hoax bomb threats by numerous airways working in India. MeitY has emphasised that social media intermediaries should adjust to the IT Act, 2000, the IT (Middleman Pointers and Digital Media Ethics Code) Guidelines, 2021, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. These platforms are required to promptly take away illegal content material to keep up public order and safety.
Situations of malicious acts, akin to hoax bomb threats concentrating on airways, pose a possible menace to public order and state safety. Such threats, whereas affecting numerous residents, additionally destabilise the nation’s financial safety.
The size of unfold of those hoax bomb threats has been noticed to be alarmingly unrestrained, facilitated by social media features like “forwarding,” “re-sharing,” “re-posting,” and “re-tweeting.” This misinformation considerably disrupts public order, airline operations, and the safety of air travellers.
On this context, intermediaries, together with social media platforms, have a due diligence obligation beneath the Data Know-how Act, 2000 (“IT Act”) and the Data Know-how (Middleman Pointers and Digital Media Ethics Code) Guidelines, 2021 (“IT Guidelines, 2021”), to promptly take away misinformation that impacts public order and state safety, in keeping with an official launch.
The Ministry has burdened that intermediaries, together with social media platforms, maintain key obligations. They need to swiftly take away misinformation and disable entry to illegal content material, akin to hoax bomb threats, inside specified deadlines. Moreover, intermediaries are required to report any actions that might jeopardise India’s unity, integrity, sovereignty, safety, or financial stability beneath the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. They need to additionally cooperate with authorities companies, offering obligatory info and help for investigations or cybersecurity efforts, making certain that is executed promptly and inside 72 hours.
