NEW DELHI: India has warned social media platforms of “consequential measures” after hundreds of false bomb threats to Indian airlines caused travel and terrorism chaos this month, saying they threaten national security.
Some threats led to planes being diverted to Canada and Germany, and fighter jets scrambled to escort the planes in the skies over Britain and Singapore.
At least 275 bomb threats have been made since mid-October, all of which were reported to be false, according to the report. Press Agency of India (PTI) news agency. Other Indian media suggest the number could be nearly 400.
The government described the spread of threats as “dangerous and unchecked.”
It warned social media platforms of consequential action as provided under any law if they do not comply with the “immediate removal of false information”.
“Malignant actions, in the form of false bomb threats to such airlines, result in a potential threat to public order and security of the state,” New Delhi said in a statement on Saturday.
“Such false bomb threats, although they affect a large number of citizens, also destabilize the country’s economic security,” the statement added.
She added that “the exemption from liability for any third-party information (…) does not apply if these intermediaries do not follow due diligence obligations.”
Potential legislative actions
Civil aviation authorities were forced to examine every flight that was threatened, many of them through messages posted on X.
The government warning did not mention any social media company by name, but cited an advisory notice from the Ministry of Information Technology.
“It has been observed that the scale of spread of such hoax bomb threats is not seriously restricted due to the availability of ‘redirect/reshare/repost/retweet’ option on social media platforms,” the ministry said.
She said companies should report any crimes that “are likely to threaten the country’s unity, integrity, sovereignty, security or economic security” and quickly cooperate with government agencies to assist in investigations.
The government said on Monday it was discussing “legislative measures” to reform aviation and aircraft security laws, convicting those who make such threats of committing a serious or “cognisable” crime with potentially longer sentences.
India regularly ranks among the top five countries globally in terms of the number of requests made by the government to remove social media content.
Last year, an Indian court fined social media platform X $61,000 after the company unsuccessfully appealed orders to remove posts and accounts critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.