22-05-2025
‘Blocked social media accounts after attack': MIB tells parliamentary panel
New Delhi : The ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has informed a parliamentary standing committee on IT that it blocked multiple social media accounts and URLs after the Pahalgam terror attack and during Operation Sindoor –– India's direct military response to the April 22 attack that claimed 26 lives.
In response to the committee's queries sent earlier this month to MIB and the IT ministry, the former said the content blocking orders were issued under section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and Information Technology (intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics code) Rules, 2021. Several URLs, and accounts were blocked for access in India under these provisions, MIB said in its memo dated May 20.
The action was taken against social media influencers and social media platforms which were 'working against national interest,' the ministry said.
Though the MIB said it 'received multiple requests for blocking content on the internet,' the memo did not mention which ministries or departments had sent these requests.
The MIB also listed additional actions it had taken, including a May 8 advisory directing OTT platforms, media streamers, and social media firms to remove Pakistani content.
The directive covered web series, films, songs, podcasts, and other streaming media, whether behind a paywall or freely accessible.
