Social media clampdown: Delhi Police asks Facebook, Twitter to rein in digital miscreants

New Delhi, Dec 21 (IANS): With the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) dominating discussions on major social media platforms for the past few days, the Delhi Police have asked these platforms to rein in "digital miscreants" in a bid to arrest the spread of misinformation.

Anil Mittal, Additional PRO, Delhi Police, told reporters that major social media firms like Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter were told in advance to keep their platforms sanitised during the CAA protests and tackle the spread of misinformation.

"We had informed social media companies well in advance to rein in digital miscreants and delete objectionable content at their end. If Delhi Police come to know about groups or individuals spreading rumours on the CAA, it will take stringent action against those as per law," Mittal told reporters.

Many violent protests have been staged in the past week since the day CAA was passed by Parliament. The opposition has accused the government of dividing people through the CAA.

The Delhi Police had earlier written a letter to Facebook, Instagram and Twitter about objectionable content being circulated on the platforms.

Mandeep Singh Randhawa, Deputy Commissioner of Police and Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Delhi Police, had appealed to the people not to be misled by rumours and report them immediately to the police, stressing that legal action will be taken against those who are found circulating rumours on social media.

Twitter refused to give any comment on the issue.