Wed 06 April 2022:
The Indian government has announced the banning of 22 YouTube channels, including four of Pakistani origin, for disinformation on national security and public order issues, marking the country’s latest federal crackdown.
The blocked YouTube channels had a total of 2.6 billion visitors, according to the country’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The government said it had shut 18 Indian YouTube channels for the first time, citing “emergency powers” under Indian IT legislation. Previous operations had targeted accounts it said were based in Pakistan.
“Multiple YouTube channels were used to post fake news on various subjects such as the Indian Armed Forces,” the Indian government said in a statement.
International criticism
In December and January, the information ministry used similar emergency powers to block 55 channels on Alphabet Inc’s YouTube and some Twitter and Facebook accounts.
The Indian government has been using new IT rules introduced in 2021 which were mostly aimed at regulating large social media firms and gave the government more powers to take down content.
India has been pressuring US digital companies such as Google and Facebook to take greater measures against what it calls “fake news” on their platforms.
Officials notified the companies in February that their inaction was causing the government to force content takedowns, which sparked widespread accusations that the government was repressing free speech.
In that discussion, Google suggested that the ministry refrain from making takedown decisions public, but the notion was roundly dismissed by officials.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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