NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Friday asked the Centre to set up a panel of experts to block virtual dare games like the Blue Whale Challenge, Choking Game, Salt and Ice Challenge, Fire Challenge, Cutting Challenge, Eyeball Challenge and Human Embroidery which have allegedly led to several suicidal deaths.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra asked the government to constitute an expert committee to create firewalls and file its reply on October 27. The bench also restrained all High Courts from entertaining any proceedings further on similar pleas.
The court’s order came in response to plea filed by activist and advocate Sneha Kalita who sought directions to intermediaries, particularly network service providers (NSPs), internet service providers (ISP), Web Hosting Service Providers and cyber cafes to observe due diligence and take steps to inform all users of computer resources “not to host, display, upload and share any virtual digital games which are grossly harmful and life threatening and morally degrading”.
She sought a direction to the government to improve filtering services at Indian shores like having firewalls in each cable landing station or having DNS blocking wall with brain scanner at Indian shores to prevent and filter virtual online games which are harmful and life threatening and morally degrading.
Cable landing stations are locations where submarine telecommunication cables and submarine power cables make landfall. A submarine communication cable is a cable laid on the seabed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across the ocean.