The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has reportedly issued emergency blocking orders against 177 social media accounts and links associated with the ongoing farmers' protests. This move comes in response to a request from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), aimed at upholding public order amidst the contentious demonstrations.
On Monday, MeitY finalised these emergency measures to maintain "public order," following the MHA's call for intervention last week. These orders, which supplement previous directives issued on February 14, are characterised as conditional, interim measures intended for the duration of the protests. Once the agitation subsides, the affected social media platforms have the option to restore visibility to the blocked accounts and channels in India. Such temporary measures under Section 69A have been utilised before during periods of heightened unrest, according to a report by the Hindustan Times.
“Monday’s orders have been issued against 35 Facebook links, 35 Facebook accounts, 14 Instagram accounts, 42 Twitter accounts, 49 Twitter links, 1 Snapchat account and 1 Reddit account. While orders to Facebook and Twitter (now X) are commonplace, this is the first blocking order issued to Snap. No blocking orders were issued against YouTube channels or videos in the latest tranche,” the report said.
Representatives from Meta (for Facebook and Instagram), X (formerly Twitter), and Snapchat also are said to have participated in a meeting of the Section 69A blocking committee on Monday. Interestingly, there was no representation from Reddit. During the meeting, delegates from Meta and Twitter proposed the selective blocking of specific URLs rather than entire accounts. However, the committee's stance highlighted the potential for active accounts to continue disseminating content that could incite public unrest, thus warranting comprehensive action.
Among the accounts affected by Monday's orders are said to include the Twitter account of Manoj Singh Duhan from the Unionist Sikh Mission and several Facebook pages expressing support for Lakha Singh Sidhana, a former gangster turned politician.
While the total number of accounts and URLs blocked through the February 14 orders remains unconfirmed, Hindustan Times said that the affected accounts include Twitter accounts of Kisan Ekta Morcha’s @kisanektamorcha, @Tractor2twitr, @Tractor2twitr_P run and Progressive Farmers Front’s @FarmersFront. These emergency orders were issued in anticipation of the farmers' march to Delhi on February 13.
The Haryana government also extended the ban on mobile internet and bulk SMS services in seven districts by a day until February 20 in the wake of the protest. According to a government order, these districts are Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa.
(Edited by : Ajay Vaishnav)
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