Action only against sites spreading rumours: Shinde

Following fake messages about the Assam violence, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde Friday said that social media accounts which have posted objectionable and inflammatory content are being blocked that there was no censorship.

"We are taking action only against those sites which can cause damage. We will not level charges unnecessarily on others, be it SMS or Facebook or Twitter," Shinde told reporters.

"Be assured of that. Only those who are involved in this and who have done this job of inciting people will face problems and nobody else," he said.

The government's decision to block certain Twitter accounts, including that of journalists, had triggered resentment and sparked concerns that the government was using a few defaulters to curb Internet freedom.

"The government is not doing any censorship. The pictures that were shown were of outside, of Burma. Riots and violence were taking place in the country due to this, so we took this  decision," Sinde said.

"We are not doing any such thing (censorship). Everybody, especially the press and journalists, should be assured of this," Shinde replied when asked if the government is trying to impose  censorship.

The government's clarification came in the wake of some fake prime minister's office (PMO) accounts on Twitter and other social media sites.
Twitter has agreed to block all fake accounts using the name of the PMO.