For ‘anti-India’ propaganda, the IT Act was used to shut down 20 YouTube channels and two websites

*Paromita Das

According to sources, the Indian government banned 20 YouTube channels and two websites for allegedly running ‘anti-India’ propaganda from Pakistan, using the recently notified intermediary guidelines and digital media ethics code under the Information and Technology (IT) Act for the first time.

Information and Broadcasting (I&B) secretary Apurva Chandra wrote to YouTube and the Department of Telecom, urging them to immediately block anything that threatens India’s sovereignty and integrity, citing sources.

The materials were “blasphemous” in character, according to the claims, and were funded by Pakistan’s espionage agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

The Indian security agencies were the ones who originally raised the alarm, prompting the I&B ministry to launch an investigation.

‘Naya Pakistan,’ a YouTube channel with over two million subscribers, was among the sites that were taken down. It was allegedly broadcasting “fake news” about Kashmir, farmer protests against farm rules, and Ayodhya.

The website,’Naya Pakistan Group that has been shut down had over 15 YouTube channels and over a million subscribers.

According to reports, the channel broadcasted content such as ‘PM Modi concedes defeat in Kashmir; Article 370 restored,’ ‘Taliban Army leaves Kabul for India,’ ‘Taiyyap Erdogan sends 35,000 mercenaries to Kashmir,’ and ‘Turk Army enters Ayodhya Ram Mandir to Take Retaliation,’ all of which were viewed by the ministry as a ” “concerted effort to sow unrest in India”.

The I&B ministry can ban content that is deemed “necessary or expedient and justifiable to block” under section 16 of the IT Rules.

The decision to ban and block these channels and websites will be presented to the Inter-Departmental Committee (IDC) within 48 hours, after which it will be validated by a committee under the IT Rules of 2021, according to officials.