THE NEWS FREEDOM
NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 20
The Centre government has ordered blocking of 177 social media accounts links associated with the ongoing farmers’ protest, citing concerns about maintaining “public order.” The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued emergency blocking orders under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, at the behest of the Ministry of Home Affairs. This move expands on earlier restrictions implemented on February 14 and 19, as per the media reports.
The targeted accounts and links span five platforms – Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, X (formerly Twitter), and Snapchat. These include 35 Facebook accounts and links, 14 Instagram accounts, 42 X accounts and links, 1 Snapchat account, and 1 Reddit account, as per the media reports. While the government frequently orders takedowns on Facebook and X platforms, this marks the first instance of targeting accounts on Snap.