SC wants rules for social media, gives govt 3 weeks to file affidavit – Times of India, The Times of India

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday waded into uncharted territory, asking the Center to frame guidelines to regulatesocial mediaand put in place a mechanism to track origin of fake news, rumors and objectionable material like pornography on social media platforms, includingFacebook,WhatsApp,TwitterandYouTube.
Pointing to social media being rampantly misused for fake news and rumors leading to mob violence and law & order problems, a bench of Justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose said new media needs regulation and the Center must step in to deal with the menace.

It directed the Center to file an affidavit in three weeks to give a definite timeline for framing a policy after solicitor general Tushar Mehta informed the court that the government is holding consultations. Mehta, however, said it was not possible to give an accurate timeline to complete the task.
“It is a worldwide problem but we have to find some solution … There have to be some strict guidelines and at the same time privacy of individuals should also be kept in mind. It can be done only by the government as it is a policy matter and neither the Supreme Court nor high courts can do it. It (social media) is very dangerous the way in which it is being misused, “the bench said.