India Criticizes Social Media Platform X as Bomb Hoaxes Disrupt Over 120 Flights

Started by ronnicaorange, Oct 25, 2024, 04:32 AM

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Related news on India bomb hoaxes and social media platforms
Hindustan Times
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Oct 24, 2024
mint
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Here's a breakdown of the situation in India regarding hoax bomb threats and the role of the social-media platform X (formerly Twitter):

🔍 What happened

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and other agencies in India say that over 100 flights operated by Indian carriers were targeted with bomb-hoax threats in a short span, and a large share of those threats originated via X.
The Independent
+4
Business Standard
+4
The Independent
+4

Many such threats used newly created or anonymous X accounts, often leveraging VPNs to hide identity.
The Independent
+2
The Times of India
+2

The government observed that these hoaxes caused significant disruption — evacuations, diversions of flights, heightened security checks.
The Independent
+1

🏛 Government's response

Officials have strongly criticised X, stating that the platform's inaction or insufficient moderation in this context might amount to "abetting crime".
Business Standard
+1

MeitY asked X (and other social platforms) to share data related to accounts spreading these threats, to assist in investigations.
Business Standard
+1

The government is also planning to update legislation—such as amendments to the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation Act, 1982 (SUASCA) and changes to the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and airport protocols—to better address hoax threats made outside of an aircraft (e.g., via social media).
The Indian Express
+1

📌 Key figures & patterns

In 2024, over 1,000 hoax bomb‐threat messages to Indian aviation were recorded—of which around 600+ came via X.
NewsDrum

In several cases, a single X handle was found to have made dozens of threats across multiple flights in a very short span.
The Week
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Airports tweaked the protocol of the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) to classify many of these as "non‐specific" threats (i.e., less credible) to reduce flight disruption.
The Times of India
+1

🧭 Why this matters

Passenger safety & confidence: Even hoax threats impose major security responses, delays, potential diversions.

Operational cost & disruption: Airlines, airports and security agencies incur costs and logistical burdens from repeated threat responses.

Platform responsibility & regulation: Raises larger questions about how social platforms moderate content (especially threats), how fast they react, how they cooperate with authorities.

Precedent for legislation: This case may lead to tighter laws around social-media moderation, accountability of intermediaries, and aviation security linked with online threats.

āœ… What next / What's being done

Platforms like X are being asked to adopt AI-powered detection of repeat hoax accounts and faster takedown/remediation.
mint
+1

Authorities will push for legislative change to include threats made online or via social media in aviation safety laws (i.e., the no‐fly list might be expanded).
The Indian Express

Continued cooperation between aviation bodies, cybersecurity agencies and social‐media platforms to track origin of threats, particularly those using VPNs and other anonymising tools.
The Independent

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