Kerala govt warns legal action against social media misinformation

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government on Saturday warned of taking stringent legal action against social media campaigners who create and post content that misleads children on various online platforms.

General Education Minister V Sivankutty said there has been a deliberate attempt to influence students through social media platforms and make them toxic by posting objectionable content.

Stating that the aim of such campaigners was to lead the young generation to wrongful deeds, the Minister urged the teachers and parents to maintain extra vigil on such matters.

“Time has exceeded to ban such programmes and content on Youtube and other such social media platforms. Not just children, they are spoiling the youth and the entire society,” he told reporters here.

Sivankutty’s statement assumes significance in the wake of the arrest of controversial Youtuber ‘Thoppi’ who had been accused of making allegedly objectionable remarks and creating a traffic block on a busy road at a recent inauguration of a shop in Malappuram district.

The original name of Thoppi is Nihad, and he is a native of Kannur district. He was taken into custody from a house in Kochi early Friday morning. The 24-year-old man’s Youtube channel, which has a large collection of objectionable remarks and content, was found to have lakhs of subscribers especially children.

Hundreds of youngsters including school children had gathered to catch a glimpse of the Youtuber when he came to inaugurate the shop at Valanchery in Malappuram recently.

Referring to the police action against Thoppi, Sivankutty said a case had been registered against the Youtuber the other day.

“Similar legal actions will be continued,” he said.

The Minister said the government cannot accept the deeds of a section of people who are trying to mislead children in the name of freedom of expression. All possible legal measures would be taken against such campaigners and the government was not ready for any compromise on the matter.

Action would also be taken against those who propagate fake news about the general education department through the social media platforms, he said.

A drive would be initiated soon to create awareness among 47 lakh students in Kerala about the pros and cons of social media, Sivankutty added. As per the complaint, the YouTuber recently caused a traffic congestion for hours on the busy road in Valanchery here.

The Youtuber was also accused of using obscene words while singing songs and making objectionable remarks during the programme, police said. The case was registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for causing a traffic jam and for publicly using objectionable words, they said.

Hours after his arrest, the Kerala police, on their official Facebook handle, has warned against creating content that incite hatred and enmity in the society. (PTI)