Assam polls: CID cell ramps up social media watch; 27 accounts flagged, one FIR

Guwahati, April 4: With just 4 days left for the state assembly elections on April 9, Assam Police has intensified surveillance of social media platforms, deploying a dedicated monitoring mechanism to curb the spread of fake news, defamatory content and posts that could trigger law and order situations.

A special cell, formed under the police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID), has ensured 100% content removal in cases where complaints were received or suo motu action initiated, a top officer said on Saturday.

"There are legal provisions already under which fake news, defamatory posts, and content which can lead to a law and order situation can be reported and taken down even in normal times. This becomes more important and urgent during election times," Special Director General of Police (SDGP), CID, Munna Prasad Gupta, told the press.

"This special cell has been formed under the CID to deal with fake news, defamatory posts, AI-generated content, etc, with a focus on the elections," he added.

Operational since March 20, the cell has acted on 17 cases covering 27 profiles and handles across platforms, with one FIR registered and the prime accused arrested till March 29.

The effective content removal rate stands at 1005, Gupta said.

“We act on complaints that are received centrally as well as those at the district level. Also, our personnel monitor social media for content that could create discord," he added.

He said most of the content flagged is related to character defamation or image tarnishing of candidates for the elections.

On tackling fake news, he said there are Election Commission guidelines in this regard.

"If it appears in mainstream media, other authorities are there to handle it. Our domain is social media, and we act if it is shared on it," he added.

The SDGP further said the social media platforms have been prompt in responding to "take down" requests in case of content related to the elections.

"We had a meeting with nodal officials of social media platforms earlier, and the process for speedy response for election-related matters has been ensured," he said.

Another official, associated with the monitoring mechanism, said once objectionable or fake content is identified or reported, a standardised legal procedure is followed.

Immediate digital preservation of the content and associated metadata is carried out to maintain evidential integrity for any subsequent legal proceedings, he added.

He said a notice under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, is issued to the platform to extract the IP address, subscriber information, and traffic data linked to the account in question.

Simultaneously, a formal takedown request is issued under the Information Technology Act, 2000, routed through the Sahyog Portal of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

This ensures platforms act on the request within the legally mandated timeframe, stripping them of safe harbour protection in case of non-compliance, the official added.

PTI