Delegation meets Sibal; seeks action against communal content on social-networking sites

NEW DELHI: Armed with a Delhi court order restraining social-networking sites from webcasting any "anti-religious" content that promotes communal disharmony, representatives from Muslim, Christian and other religious communities today met Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal seeking stringent action against such internet platforms.

According to a Telecom Ministry official, a group of over 100 delegates, including representatives from all religious communities like imams, ulemas and Christian priests, social activists, journalists and advocates met Sibal and handed over a memorandum against the "illegal" activities of websites like Facebook, Google and Yahoo.

The delegation urged for "legal action as early as possible as otherwise it may create communal disharmony and other kind of problem throughout the nation."

The minister assured the delegation that the government will consider appropriate action against companies which post offensive content.

Yesterday, a Delhi court had restrained social-networking sites including Facebook, Google and Youtube from webcasting any "anti-religious" or "anti-social" content promoting hatred or communal disharmony.

Reacting to the court's order, Google India today said, "We believe that access to information is the foundation of a free society. Google Search helps spread knowledge, enabling people to find out about almost anything by typing a few words into a computer.

"And services like YouTube and Google+ help users to express themselves and share different points of view. Where content is illegal or breaks our terms of service we will continue to remove it."