Farmers' protest: Indian govt blocks 177 social media accounts to uphold 'public order'

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), operating under the central government, has issued an emergency directive to major social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, X (formerly Twitter), and Snap.

The directive mandates the blocking of 177 accounts and links associated with the farmers' protest, citing the need to maintain public order.

According to a Hindustan Times report, MeitY issued these orders following the Ministry of Home Affairs' instructions.

These directives, finalised on February 14 and supplemented on February 19, are temporary and will remain in effect for the duration of the protest. Social media companies are allowed to restore the blocked accounts and channels once the protest concludes.

Details of the order

The blocking orders encompass various platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, X, Snapchat, and Reddit. MeitY's orderfocuses specifically on 35 Facebook links, 35 Facebook accounts, 14 Instagram accounts, 42 X accounts, 49 X links, 1 Snapchat account, and 1 Reddit account. Notably, this marks the first time the government has issued a blocking order against Snap.

Representatives from Meta (formerly Facebook) and X engaged in a Section 69A blocking committee meeting, advocating against the wholesale blocking of channels.

They proposed instead the blocking of specific URLs containing objectionable content. However, the committee expressed concerns that allowing these accounts to remain active could incite public unrest.

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The enforcement of the emergency order resulted in the suspension of several prominent accounts, including Manoj Singh Duhan's X account from the Unionist Sikh Mission and Facebook pages supporting Lakha Singh Sidhana, a gangster-turned-politician.

While the total number of accounts and URLs blocked by the February 14 order remains undisclosed, it included profiles such as @kisanektamorcha and @FarmersFront on X, associated with the Kisan Ekta Morcha and Progressive Farmers Front, respectively.

(With inputs from agencies)