New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on Friday issued an advisory directed at all social media platforms urging them to curb the spread of false news regarding coronavirus on their platforms.
"Under Section 79 of the IT Act, the social media platforms, which are intermediaries in legal terms, must inform their users not to host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, update or share any information that may affect public order," the advisory reads.
"The social media platforms are urged to initiate awareness campaigns on their platforms for the users not to circulate any false news regarding coronavirus. They should take immediate action to disable or remove such content hosted on their platforms on a priority basis. They should promote the dissemination of authentic information related to coronavirus," adds the advisory.
Union Health Ministry on Saturday said that a total of 283 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the country so far. Out of the total number, four people have died.
