The centre ordered the blocking of X (formerly Twitter) account of Prateek Sharma alias “Dr Nimo Yadav” in the country for peddling AI-generated fake news. He was at the helm of spreading false narratives involving the Prime Minister.
The information was given by the social media platform to the Delhi High Court, reported Bar and Bench. The details were presented on the 30th of March (Monday). The court and Sharma were both given access to the same.
According to the blocking order, Sharma’s account featured defamatory posts that denigrated the government and disparaged Prime Minister Narendra Modi using images, videos and AI-edited content. Additionally, it outlined that disseminating such misleading material could disrupt public order and pose a threat to internal security.
X provided the document to Judge Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav. He is considering Sharma’s request to have the government’s directive disclosed. The latter claimed that since his account is a source of revenue, the ongoing restriction has caused him to lose money and interfere with his professional obligations.
Sharma’s attorney alleged that they would take appropriate action if they were made aware of the objectionable content. The government’s counsel urged the court to offer some time to determine whether there is a manner for the petitioner’s submission to be properly taken into consideration. The appeal was granted by Kaurav.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) issued the direction to ban such accounts involved in peddling fake narrative on 18th March. According to the documents, the government’s order under the Information Technology Act (IT Act) barred 11 other X handles as well. The subsequent hearing is scheduled for next week.
