FB, Google promise to block hate contents

Twitter may not adhere to government guidelines

Days after certain incendiary messages circulated in the social networking sites triggered reverse migration of the North-East community, social media networks on Tuesday said they are working to remove the objectionable contents.

Admitting that the government had directed them to remove the inflammatory contents, Facebook said the company is “working through the requests and responding to the concerned agencies.”

“Facebook will remove contents which breach our terms, as defined in its agreement with its users,” it said in a statement. The US-based company also said it has urged the users to flag such contents “so that we can investigate and take action fast.”

Google, which provides services like YouTube and Orkut, said all contents which may incite violence, have been blocked. “The company understands seriousness of the situation and will continue to work closely with the relevant authorities,” it said. However, Twitter, another US-based social networking site, is yet to respond to the government’s plea, sources in the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEIT) said.

Earlier, Twitter reportedly said it can not remove the contents. Speculations are rife that Twitter is unlikely to adhere to the government's guidelines due to the magnitude of tweets and re-tweets. Removal of objectionable contents will only be possible if the site’s entire content is screened.

While directing all companies hosting websites to remove objectionable contents with immediate effect, DEIT Secretary R Chandrashekar said the government will approach the US if it is found that the content is hosted on US servers.

Centre worried

The Centre, which is worried over the misuse of social media to disturb communal harmony, has already blocked over 250 web pages containing video clips and other contents that fanned the rumours on an impending attack on North-Easterners further.