747 websites, 94 YouTube channels ‘working against India’ blocked: Centre

The Indian government on Thursday (July 21) said it had taken strong action against websites and YouTube channels “working against the interest of the country”.

Union minister of information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur said that in 2021-22 the ministry took strong action against YouTube channels working against the interest of the country.

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Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Thakur said the ministry has acted against 94 YouTube channels, 19 social media accounts and 747 URLs and got them blocked.

These actions have been taken under Section 69A Information Technology Act 2000, he said.

The minister further said that the government has “strongly acted” against agencies working against the sovereignty of the country by spreading fake news and spreading propaganda on the internet.

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Earlier action

In April, the ministry of information and broadcasting said it utilised the emergency powers under the IT Rules, 2021, and issued orders for blocking 22 YouTube-based news channels, three Twitter accounts, one Facebook account, and one news website.

“The blocked YouTube channels had a cumulative viewership of over 260 crore, and were used to spread fake news, and coordinated disinformation over social media on subjects sensitive from the perspective of national security, India’s foreign relations, and public order,” the ministry said.

“This is the first time action has been taken on the Indian YouTube-based news publishers since the notification of the IT Rules, 2021 in February last year. Through the recent blocking order, 18 Indian and four Pakistan-based YouTube news channels have been blocked,” it added.

Further, the ministry said, “Multiple YouTube channels were used to post fake news on various subjects such as the Indian Armed Forces, Jammu and Kashmir, etc. The content ordered to be blocked also included certain anti-India content posted from multiple social media accounts operated in a coordinated manner from Pakistan.

“It was observed that a significant amount of false content published by these Indian YouTube-based channels related to the ongoing situation in Ukraine, and aimed at jeopardizing India’s foreign relations with other countries.”