Farmers protest as the centre bans 177 social media accounts in an effort to preserve "public order."

Farmers protest as the centre bans 177 social media accounts in an effort to preserve "public order."

MeitY orders the blocking of 177 accounts and links associated with the farmers' protest for public order on Facebook, Instagram, X, and Snap. Once the demonstrations are over, the directives from February 14 and 19 may be reinstated.

February 19, 2024: Farmers protesting in favour of higher crop prices in 2021 march towards New Delhi, near the Shambhu Barrier, the boundary between the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana. Farmers wave at police.

Top social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit are exempt from the emergency order that was finalised by the central government's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). Users have been instructed to block accounts and connections. keeping 'public order' intact.

Hindustan Times said that MeitY issued the emergency measures in addition to the previous directives from February 14 on the Home Ministry's directions. Per the report, the social media firms have the option to reinstate the accounts and channels on February 14 and 19, provided that they remain conditional and are in place for the duration of the protest.

35 Facebook connections, 35 Facebook accounts, 14 Instagram accounts, 42 X accounts, 49 X links, 1 Snapchat account, and 1 Reddit account were the targets of MeitY instructions, according to the HT report. Interestingly, this is the first time the Centre has filed a blocking order on Snap, despite the fact that governments often delete Facebook and X accounts.

Representatives from every one of these businesses—aside from Reddit—attended a meeting of the Section 69A Blocking Committee on Monday. As to the HT report, delegates from Meta and X argued that blocking individual URLs that contain the material is a better idea than banning whole channels. Retaliating, the committee said that letting these accounts run the risk of igniting public discontent.

A prominent Facebook page endorsing gangster-turned-politician Lakha Singh Sidhana and Manoj Singh Duhan of the Unionist Sikh Mission were among the prominent accounts removed on Monday.

The Affected Accounts include the X profiles of Kisan Ekta Morcha, @kisanektamorcha, @Tractor2twitr, @Tractor2twitr_P run, as well as Pragatisheel Kisan Morcha's @FarmersFront. The entire number of accounts and URLs prohibited by the February 14 ruling is not yet known.