9,845 URLs blocked by MeitY between Jan-Oct 2024: MHA tells Rajya Sabha
Rai said that websites involved in “communal and anti-India propaganda” affecting India’s sovereignty are sent to MeitY to block
NEW DELHI: The ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) blocked 9,845 URLs between January and October this year under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, minister of state for home affairs Nityanand Rai told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
Rai, who was responding to a question by Congress MP Rajeev Shukla on online radicalisation, said that these blocked URLs include links related to radical content.
Rai said that websites and accounts that were involved in “communal and anti-India propaganda affecting sovereignty and integrity of India” are identified and sent to MeitY to block.
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The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is presently investigating 67 cases related to online radicalisation in which 325 accused have been arrested, 336 accused have been charge-sheeted, and 63 accused have been convicted, Rai said in the written response.
‘Encrypted apps remain a challenge’
Rai said that the use of end-to-end encrypted apps such as WhatsApp and Signal continues to be a major challenge in countering online radicalisation.
“The use of more secured messaging applications like Signal, Telegram, Viber and dark Web apart from WhatsApp with end-to-end encryption by radical elements to connect with other likeminded elements has proved to be a major challenge for security agencies in its efforts to counter radicalized individuals online,” the minister said.
Rai added that cyberspace was “ceaselessly” monitored as cyber technology is “the main tool to propagate radical ideology”. “Cyber patrolling is done on regular basis to identify and monitor such content and entities which are targeting gullible/depressed/alienated youth,” he said.
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