Supreme Court Issues Notice To Centre, Twitter On Mechanism To Check Fake News, Objectionable Content

The Supreme Court on February 12 issued notice to the government and social media giant Twitter on a petition asking for a system to check fake news, hate messages, seditious and incendiary content on social media platforms.

BJP leader Vinit Goenka had filed a petition in May 2020, demanding a mechanism to check content and advertisements spreading hatred through fake news on Twitter.

The petition mentioned that there were hundreds of fake Twitter handles and Facebook accounts in the name of eminent people and dignitaries. "Social media accounts were used by political parties to tarnish the image of opponents, particularly during elections," the BJP leader had said.

The apex court heard the petition at a time when Twitter has complied with the government orders and taken down more than 97% of the handles that the Information and Technology Ministry had sought to be blocked for promoting "inflammatory content" in connection with the farmers' protest.

Meanwhile, the Centre has also formulated draft rules to regulate social media, streaming and digital news content, which will constitute a code of ethics and a mechanism to report objectionable content and demand its removal.

The micro-blogging platform had earlier refused to comply with the government's orders, following which, the IT secretary expressed displeasure over "differential treatment" by Twitter in its handling of the Capitol Hill riots and the Red Fort violence in Delhi.

"They must be obeyed immediately. If they are executed days later, it becomes meaningless," Sawhney had said.

"Lawfully passed orders are binding on any business entity. They must be obeyed immediately. If they are executed days later, it becomes meaningless," the IT ministry said.

Also Read: Twitter Complies With Govt Order, Blocks 97% Handles With "Inflammatory Content"