KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, expressing her deep concern over the proliferation of provocative content on social media and the alarming surge in cybercrimes.
Terming the issue as “a collective challenge,” she stated that it requires urgent and coordinated action to safeguard public order, national unity, and the integrity of the country’s democracy.
Banerjee said, “In recent times, it has been observed that incendiary narratives, misleading stories and fake videos circulating on social media are contributing significantly to the aggravation of criminal tendencies among certain sections of society. Such content not only spreads misinformation, but also has the potential to inflame communal sentiments, incite violence, disrupt societal harmony and indulge in crime against women.”
“The instantaneous and wide-reaching nature of misuse of digital platforms amplifies these effects manifold,” she observed.
The West Bengal Chief Minister also stated that the menace of cybercrime is growing both in complexity and in its detrimental impact.
“Notably, both provocative social media posts and cybercrimes disproportionately affect vulnerable sections of society, women, children, the elderly, and those from economically weaker backgrounds, who are often less equipped to identify, counter or recover from such harm. This exacerbates existing social inequalities and leaves larger segments of our population exposed to profound psychological, financial and social distress,” she added.
Banerjee called for an urgent need for stringent legislative provisions that can act as an effective deterrent against the creation and dissemination of provocative content and acts perpetrated with criminal intent in cyberspace.
In her letter to Shah on Thursday, she said, “The current legal framework and its enforcement requires further strengthening to keep pace with the rapidly evolving digital ecosystem and the sophisticated methods employed by malicious actors.”
“Therefore, it is important that the sensitisation programmes, digital literacy campaigns and community engagement initiatives must be pursued vigorously to equip citizens with the tools to critically evaluate online information and to report suspicious activities promptly,” Banerjee added.