Nagaland Police issues advisory to users, admins of social media platforms

•  Advisory cautions against posting fake news, hate speech or misinformation on social media platforms
•  Says law enforcement agency ‘will take stern action against such perpetrators’ 
   

Morung Express News
Dimapur | April 17

The Nagaland Police, on April 17, has issued an advisory regarding the responsibilities of every social media user and administrator “should take Coronavirus outbreak.”

 
Some of the platforms Nagaland Police mentioned in its advisory which was posted on its Twitter handle were WhatsApp, Facebook, TikTok, and Telegram etc.  

Explaining the advisory, the Nagaland Police said that a lot of fake news, misinformation and hate speech messages are being circulated on instant messaging platforms, like WhatsApp, etc. 

The advisory, issued by the Office of the Director General of Police, Nagaland Police Headquarters, has some ‘Do’s and Don’ts’ points for the members and admins of such groups on social media platforms to remember.

    WHAT SHOULD ONE DO AS A MEMBER OF GROUPS IN MESSAGING PLATFORMS:
•    Do not post fake news, hate speech or misinformation in groups. It's an offence under Section 54 of DMA 2005, Section 66 and 79 of IT Act 2008 and Section 505 of IPC. 
•    Do not further forward or circulate any such news you get from other members of the group.
•     Immediately delete any post if you find it objectionable or if the admin has notified you.
•     Check the source and veracity of any news/image/video/meme you receive, before positing it on the group.
•     If one finds any piece of misinformation, fake news or hate speech, report it on www.cybercrime.gov.in, www.police.nagaland.gov.in  or to the nearest police station, and also inform your group admin immediately. 
•     Never share any content that is violent, pornographic and discriminative against any religion/community. It's an offence under Section 54 of DMA 2005, Section 66 and 79 of IT Act 2008 and Section 505 of IPC. 

    WHAT SHOULD AN ADMIN OF MESSAGING PLATFORMS DO: 
•    Ensure that every group member is reliable and responsible enough to share only verified news.
• Inform all the group members about the rules of posting in the group. 
•    Warn all the members and prevent them from sharing objectionable content.
•     Actively and regularly monitor content that is being shared on the group. 
•    It is advisable that if the group is uncontrollable, then the group settings can be changed to only where admins have the right to post. 
•     Inform the police if any members resort to mischief and share objectionable content. 

Appeals citizens 
Meanwhile, the advisory also urged all citizens to not “post, share, forward, disseminate, any message, content, pictures or photos, videos anything that could promote enmity on grounds of tribe, religion, nationality, race, language and other grounds of discrimination or disrupt public order, decency and morality.”

 If such act is committed, the law enforcement agency will take stern action against such perpetrators, it said. 
The law enforcement agencies have power under law to take legal action against anyone who spreads rumours and causes a state of panic and unrest between religious communities in this state of crisis, it added. 

Violations will be dealt with firmly as per law including apprehension of the offenders and appropriate action under the preventive sections of law, the police informed. 

The Nagaland Police said that the violators will be prosecuted under various relevant sections of IPC, IT Act, CrPC and EDA Act. 

“Stay Safe. Stay quarantined. Stay away from fake news and hate speech,” the Advisory added.