New Delhi:
Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said on Tuesday that since December 2021, the government has issued instructions to block 110 YouTube-based news channels and 248 URLs for transmitting content that violates the country’s sovereignty.
In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Mr Thakur also said that the National Crime Records Bureau did not keep separate records on journalists.
The minister was answering a question from Congressman Pradyut Bordoloi, who had sought details on the number of journalists arrested over the past five years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act (UAPA), India’s Penal Code and other criminal laws. current year.
“‘Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are subjects of state under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India and state governments are responsible for the prevention, detection and investigation of crimes and for prosecuting the criminals through their law enforcement agencies,” Mr Thakur said.
He said the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) does not keep records separately for journalists/media personnel.
Mr Thakur said that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has issued instructions to block access to 110 YouTube-based news channels and 248 user-generated URLs, including web pages, websites, posts/accounts on social media platforms, podcasts and apps for carrying content referred to section 69A of the IT Act, 2000.
In response to a separate question, Mr Thakur said that the Fact Check Unit of the Press Information Bureau has detected more than 1,160 fake news.
The minister said that the Fact Check Union takes note of news, both suo-motu and through citizen inquiries.
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