DoT Seeks Help to Block Social Media Apps in Emergency Situations: IT Secretary

IT Secretary, Ajay Prakash Sahni reportedly said, "There is no specific reference but the IT Act provides all kinds of obligations on the platforms and intermediaries and we will look at everything that is possible to control it".

New Delhi, Aug 8: The Department of Telecom (DoT) has asked telcos and internet service providers to explore options that can block social media applications such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram etc in situations where the national security and public order are under threat. The department has also sought the help of the telecom operators, the Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI), industry body Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) and others to provide their technical inputs to block the applications.

Section 69A of IT Act grants the department the power to issue directions for disabling public access to information through any computer resource. IT Secretary, Ajay Prakash Sahni reportedly said, “There is no specific reference but the IT Act provides all kinds of obligations on the platforms and intermediaries and we will look at everything that is possible to control it”.

On being asked about the government’s action on WhatsApp response that the origination of the message could not be traced, Prakash Sahni said that a number of steps have been taken to limit the forwarding and to ramp up the app’s platform. The government has infact requested various platforms to make sure that the flagging of concerns is possible in WhatsApp’s platform. Prakash Sahni added, “We expect over a period of time they would ramp up the facilities so that if there is anything disturbing the users should be able to flag it. And then the platform has to respond to it.”

In addition, Director General of Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) Rajan Mathews said, “In our response to DoT we have indicated that it is very very difficult, if not near impossible, to start completely disconnecting apps without having all kinds of consequences and consequential damage that can result”. Rajan Mathews added, “Our suggestion is of course that there may be certain situations where national security is concerned, public and property’s safety is at stake then government must make a call in terms of what is the best way to address the particular issue”.

Mathews noted that the government should be extra careful while tackling the particular situation. He stated, “All we are suggesting is that this should not be the first way to address an issue because it is a very blunt instrument. It is difficult to implement. It may not have desired impacts.” He also added, “The government has not given any particular reason on the issue. They have only given us a very short question saying that please let us know if there is any way through which a particular app could be blocked.”

Reported by Shiv Prakash Yadav