'Check Content Spreading Hatred And Fake News': SC Issues Notice To Twitter & Centre

The petition says that hate is being spread in society through fake news and inflammatory messages from some bogus accounts. The petition has been filed by BJP leader Vineet Goenka.

Photo: PTI

The Supreme Court on Friday has issued a notice to Twitter India and the Central Government on the plea seeking a mechanism for regulating fake news, hate news and seditious posts.

A bench of Chief Justice SA Bobde and justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian case has tagged the plea to another petition, which was filed earlier this year in May 2020 in the Supreme Court for monitoring on Twitter. The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has sought for a mechanism or law to deal with circulation of prohibited content on Twitter.

The petition says that hate is being spread in society through fake news and inflammatory messages from some bogus accounts. The petition has been filed by BJP leader Vineet Goenka.

The petitioner has said that there are hundreds of fake Twitter handles and bogus Facebook accounts in the names of famous people and dignitaries.

It has also been said in the petition that these fake Twitter handles and Facebook accounts use real photographs of constitutional officers and famous citizens. This is the reason why common people believe such messages issued from such Twitter handles and Facebook accounts.

The petition said that fake accounts are used to incite casteism and violence, which pose a threat to the unity of the country.

The petition has also demanded that KYC of all social media account holders including Twitter, Facebook needs to be conducted, so that those who share inflammatory and hate posts on social media can be easily identified.