IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad Monday sent a strong message to social media firms asking them to maintain constitutional sanctity and remain vigilant against any misuse of their platforms for acts of terrorism and communalism.
The minister, soon after assuming the charge of IT Ministry,said the data protection bill will be high on priority but did not specifywhether it will be taken up in the upcoming Parliament session.
The first session of the newly-elected LokSabha has beenconvened from June 17 to July 26. Sources said that a political view could bedriven on the draft data protection law.
Starting his second innings as Electronics and IT Minister,Prasad outlined his priorities for his ministry that included setting up onelakh digital villages, establishment of national data grid, start-up hub,driving digital literacy, and accelerating the growth of digital payments withthe support of home-grown technologies. The minister said that ‘AadhaarSevaKendras’, conceptualised on the linesof Passport SevaKendras, will be opened in 10 cities soon.
Prasad, known for taking a firm stance on social mediamisuse in the past, acknowledged the role of social media platforms inpromoting free expression but reminded the players that they must respectconstitutional sanctity of free speech.
“Platforms should not be allowed to be used forterrorism, extremism and communalism…These are well known issues…We allrespect freedom of speech and expression that is sacrosanct for us and part ofthe constitutional guarantee, but that is also subject to reasonablerestriction,” the minister said.
The IT Ministry, last year, began work on tightening rulesfor social media and online companies, for which it held wide publicconsultations.”The expansion of social media platforms iswelcome but use of social media for terrorism, extremist ideas, or to break thecountry, will not be allowed. If a platform is misused for such purposes, itwill be unfortunate and suitable action will be taken,” the Ministerwarned.