Over 4,400 Facebook, Twitter URLs blocked in 2020: MoS IT Dhotre

Over 4,400 URLs from Facebook and Twitter were blocked by the government in 2020 under Section 69A of the IT Act, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

Minister of State for Electronics and IT Sanjay Dhotre said Section 69A of the IT Act, 2000 empowers the government to block any information generated, transmitted, received, stored or hosted in any computer resource in the interest of sovereignty and security of the country, friendly relations with foreign states, public order or for preventing incitement to the commission of any cognizable offence related to these.

“Blocking is done as per the process specified in the IT (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information By Public) Rules, 2009 notified under this section,” he said in a written reply to Lok Sabha.