Centre’s Big Caution To Social Media Platforms Over Fake Bomb Threats

The spate of faux bomb threats issued to airways poses a risk to public order, the Centre has advised social media platforms whereas ordering them to behave on such misinformation on the earliest.

It has additionally warned the platforms that the exemption accessible to them for third-party content material as intermediaries below the Data Know-how Act is not going to apply if they do not observe their due diligence obligations or support in committing an illegal act. 

In an advisory despatched on Friday, the Ministry of Electronics and Data Know-how mentioned air travellers and safety companies have been affected due to the hoax bomb threats, which have disrupted the traditional operations of airways. 

“Such hoax bomb threats, whereas affecting numerous residents, additionally destabilise the financial safety of the nation. Additional, the dimensions of unfold of such hoax bomb threats has been noticed to be dangerously unrestrained as a result of availability of the choice of ‘forwarding/re-sharing/ re-posting/ re-tweeting’ on the social media platforms. Such hoax bomb threats are largely misinformation that’s massively disrupting public order, operations of airways and safety of the airline travellers,” the ministry mentioned within the advisory. 

The ministry identified that the platforms have an obligation to hold out due diligence below the Data Know-how Act (IT Act), 2000, and the Data Know-how Guidelines (IT Guidelines), 2021, to take away misinformation that impacts public order and safety. 

It requested the platforms to cease the posting and sharing of such “illegal or false” data and warned that the exemption from legal responsibility for third-party data, knowledge, or communication hosted by social media intermediaries is not going to apply “if such intermediaries don’t observe the due diligence obligations as prescribed below the IT Act learn with IT Guidelines, 2021 or abetted or aided, within the fee of the illegal act.”

If the due diligence obligations weren’t adopted, the ministry mentioned, the platforms can be chargeable for motion below the IT Act in addition to the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which has changed the Indian Penal Code.