Social media tops agenda at police meet

Social media platforms and challenges posed by them for policing in the country will lead the agenda at this year’s annual conference of top police officials of the country, sources told HT.

“The impact of social media platforms — as they are being used for terror recruiting, provoking communal tension and even for mobilising people — on policing in the country and new challenges they bring to the table will be the prime focus of the annual conference, which will be inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi,” said a senior government official.

The official said a balancing act is required and privacy concerns will have to be taken into account with regard to monitoring of social media platforms.

The three-day conference will begin from December 18 in Gujarat’s Kutch district.

“The agenda is being given final touches at the moment. Terror outfits like the Islamic State are not only spreading their message using social media platforms but also employ cyber space as a recruiting ground. Besides, social media platforms have been used to spread communally provocative messages as well,” said a senior government official involved in the exercise to finalise the agenda.

Around two dozen Indian boys — living here as well as abroad — have joined the ranks of IS and all of them were recruited online. Indian techie Mehdi Masroor Biswas was found to be running a Twitter account followed by IS sympathisers from all over the world. Online activities of more than 150 Indian boys are also under the scanner of law enforcement agencies.

The conference will take place outside Delhi for the second time. More than 80 DGP rank officials will participate.