Use of social media to instigate communal tension

on Sep 8, 2012

social media, communal tension, bulk SMS, social media, internet, miscreants, cyber crime, blanket ban, annual security conference, Intelligence Bureau Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today raised alarm over the use of new tools - bulk SMS, social media, and internet - to stir an old problem - communal violence. Expressing concern over the rise of the communal violence across the country he said that the erosion in inter-community relations is something that should worry us all. Flagging the use of the social media and internet to fuel communal violence in Assam and southern states last month, Dr Singh said the police needs to understand how the new media is used by miscreants. India's cyber security, Dr Singh said, had critical gaps. He said that India's vulnerability to cyber crime is escalating as the economy and critical infrastructure becomes increasingly reliant on interdependent computer networks and internet. Large scale cyber attacks, he said, can have potentially devastating results. He said that although the government is trying to redesign the cyber security structure, there was need to tap into the resources of the academia and private sector. The Prime Minister made clear that wasn't in favour of a blanket ban on social media. Any measure to control the use of such media must be carefully weighed against the need for the freedom to express and communicate. The Prime Minister was speaking to the Director General of Police and senior Police officers at New Delhi regarding this matter at annual security conference that is hosted by the Intelligence Bureau.