The Narendra Modi government has blocked 122 YouTube based news channels since December 2021, Union minister Anurag Thakur told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
The information and broadcasting minister was responding to an unstarred question by AAP MP Sanjeev Arora, who had asked about the steps taken by the government to shut down fake news channels and the number of channels which have been forced to shut down in “the last three years”.
“Ministry of information and broadcasting has, since December, 2021, issued directions for blocking from public access of 122 YouTube based news channels for carrying content violative of section 69A of IT Act, 2000 in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states or public order or for preventing incitement to the commission of any cognisable offence relating to the above,” Thakur said in his response.
In August last year, the I&B ministry told Parliament that it had blocked eight YouTube channels and a Facebook account for “spreading disinformation” about “India’s national security, foreign relations and public order”. The YouTube channels, including one based in Pakistan, had a cumulative viewership of over 114 crore and nearly 85,73,000 subscriptions, the ministry said. These include Loktantra Tv with 12.90 lakh subscribers, U&V TV with 10.20 lakh, AM Razvi with 95,900, Gouravshali Pawan Mithilanchal with 7 lakh, SeeTop5TH with 33.50 lakh, Sarkari Update with 80,900 and Sab Kuch Dekho followed by 19.40 lakh subscriptions. The Pakistan-based channel News ki Dunya had 97,000 subscribers, the ministry said.
In July last year, Thakur had told the Lok Sabha that the government had blocked 78 news channels and 560 URLs on YouTube since 2021. Manickam Tagore B, Congress MP from Tamil Nadu’s Virudhunagar, had sought details of the number of YouTube channels blocked by the government and “the incidents which prompted” such decisions.
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