BJP leader moves SC to check fake social media accounts

A BJP leader has approached the Supreme Court for creating a mechanism to check fake and bogus Twitter handles and Facebook accounts by putting in KYC to make the social media safe, accountable and traceable.

The petition by Vinit Goenka, also a member of the Governing Council (CRIS), contended that there are hundreds of special media accounts in the name of eminent people and high dignitaries.

"The common man relies upon the messages published from these Twitter handles and Facebook accounts. These bogus accounts are used to promote casteism and communalism which endangers fraternity and unity of the country," the plea filed through advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey said.

The PIL also blamed fake news as the root cause of many riots, including the one in Delhi earlier this year.

Presently, total number of Twitter handles in India are around 35 million and total number of Facebook accounts are 350 million. According to experts, around 10 per cent Twitter handles (3.5 million) and 10 per cent Facebook accounts (35 million) are duplicate or fake, the plea said.

The petition further said that a representation to the concerned authority to act in accordance with the law of the country against social media giant Twitter was filed but no action has been taken so far by the concerned authorities.

It also pointed out that the Ministry of Home Affairs has banned Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) under the Unlawful Activities and Prevention Act on July 10, 2019, yet it continued to have an active presence on Twitter espousing hatred, terrorism, sedition and criminal acts.