(Eds: With additional details)New Delhi, Oct 13 (PTI) The Supreme Court today askedgovernment to set up a panel of experts to block virtual daregames like Blue Whale Challenge which has allegedly led toseveral suicidal deaths.
The apex court also sought the government's response on aplea seeking to firewall such life threatening/violent gamesexisting in the cyber world like 'Choking game', 'Salt and IceChallenge', 'Fire Challenge', 'Cutting challenge', 'Eyeballchallenge' and 'Human Embroidery game'.
Firewall is a system designed to prevent unauthorisedaccess to or from a private network by controlling incomingand outgoing network traffic.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra asked thegovernment to constitute an experts committee to create suchfirewalls and file its reply October 27.
The bench, comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D YChandrachud, also restrained all high courts from entertainingand proceedings further in similar pleas.
The plea was filed by an activist and advocate SnehaKalita who sought directions to intermediaries, particularlynetwork service providers (NSPs), internet service providers(ISP), Web Hosting Service Providers, cyber cafes to observedue diligence and take steps to inform all users of computerresources "not to host, display, upload and share anyvirtual digital games which is grossly harmful and lifethreatening and morally degrading.""Issue directions to the Respondents No 1 (Centre) totake immediate measures to ban/block the sites linked with thedangerous Blue Whale online game or any other forms ofviolence and immoral game similar in nature," the plea said.
Kalita sought a direction to the government to improve"the filtering services at Indian Shores like having firewallsin each Cable landing Station or having DNS Blocking wall withbrain scanner (at underground submarine optical fibre cableconnecting the operators abroad) to be installed at Indianshores to prevent and filter the virtual online games whichare harmful and life threatening and morally degrading."Cable landing stations are locations where a submarinetelecommunications cables and submarine power cables make alandfall. A submarine communications cable is a cable laid onthe sea bed between land-based stations to carrytelecommunication signals across stretches of ocean.
The petition also sought a direction to the Ministry ofWoman and Child Development to take precautions to preventyoungsters from falling into the trap of such games.
The apex court is already hearing a plea filed by a73-year-old man from Tamil Nadu seeking a ban on the BlueWhale challenge game allegedly linked to the deaths of severalchildren worldwide.
Several high courts like Delhi and Madras have beenseized of the matter and have sought response from Centre andFacebook, Google and Yahoo for taking down the links of theBlue Whale challenge.
However, yesterday the Centre told the Delhi High Courtthat an experts panel has been set up to probe cases ofsuicide allegedly caused by the 'Blue Whale' challenge game.
The court was also informed by the government that it hasissued directions to internet majors - Google, Facebook,WhatsApp, Instagram, Microsoft and Yahoo to ensure that alllinks of 'Blue Whale' and of similar games are immediatelyremoved from their platforms.
The Blue Whale Challenge is reportedly a suicide game inwhich the player is given certain tasks to complete over aperiod of 50 days and the final task leads him or her tocommit suicide. The player is also asked to share photos afterfinishing each challenge.
The sudden popularity of the lethal online game hadforced the government to issue directions to the internetfirms to remove its links. PTI MNL RRT PKS ABA RKSARC.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.