Govt working with social media to prevent misuse of technology: Sibal

Admitting to difficulties in identifying people using websites to spread communal hatred, government today said it was working with social networking sites to create an institutional mechanism to prevent misuse of technology.

Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal said some social networking websites have agreed to share user information with the government but there were some procedural issues involved.
"We have to make efforts in consultation with the websites and impress upon them to create an institutional mechanism to prevent misuse of technology," he told reporters outside Parliament House.

If there was misuse of technology there should be provision for punishment, Sibal said adding no such provisions were available at present.

"Now we have to decide the steps we have to take under our laws on how we can take it forward so that we can seek help from these websites in the coming days we can identify those who have misused these website and punish them," he said.

Sibal said some websites have refused to share user information contending that they were beyond the jurisdiction of India as their web servers were located in other countries.