Close to 700 URLs have been blocked by social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter this year, with the government saying it has asked these companies to find technological solutions to ensure that rumours and fake news do not proliferate on their platforms. Addressing members’ concerns during Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Minister for Electronics and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad said while the government was pressing for more accountability of social media companies, it was clear that the right of the people to raise questions has to be upheld. There is a need to have a consensus on what constitutes fake news, Prasad said. The minister said several URLs have been blocked by these companies in compliance with the provisions of the Information Technology Act in recent past. He said till June this year, the number of URLs blocked by Facebook was 499, YouTube 57, Twitter 88, Instagram 25 and Tumblr 28.

Close to 700 URLs have been blocked by social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter this year, with the government saying it has asked these companies to find technological solutions to ensure that rumours and fake news do not proliferate on their platforms. Addressing members’ concerns during Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Minister for Electronics and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad said while the government was pressing for more accountability of social media companies, it was clear that the right of the people to raise questions has to be upheld. There is a need to have a consensus on what constitutes fake news, Prasad said. The minister said several URLs have been blocked by these companies in compliance with the provisions of the Information Technology Act in recent past. He said till June this year, the number of URLs blocked by Facebook was 499, YouTube 57, Twitter 88, Instagram 25 and Tumblr 28.