India warns of ‘consequential action’ following hoax airline bomb threats

NEW DELHI: India has warned social media platforms of “consequential action” after hundreds of hoax bomb threats to Indian airlines triggered travel chaos and terror this month, saying that it threatened national security.

Some threats led to planes being diverted to Canada and Germany, and fighter jets scrambled to escort aircraft in the skies above Britain and Singapore.

At least 275 bomb threats were made since mid-October, all reported to have been false, according to the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency. Other Indian media suggest it could be as high as nearly 400.

The government called the spread of the threats “dangerously unrestrained”.

It warned social media platforms of consequential action as provided under any law if they do not comply with the “prompt removal of misinformation”.

“The instances of malicious acts, in the form of hoax bomb threats to such airlines, lead to a potential threat to the public order and security of the state,” said New Delhi in a statement on Saturday.

“Such hoax bomb threats, while affecting a large number of citizens, also destabilise the economic security of the country,” added the statement.

“The exemption from liability for any third party information […] shall not apply if such intermediaries do not follow the due diligence obligations,” it added.

Possible legislative action

Civil aviation authorities have had to check every flight that has been threatened, many by messages posted on X.

The government warning did not mention any social media company by name but cited an advisory notice from the Information Technology Ministry.

“The scale of (the) spread of such hoax bomb threats has been observed to be dangerously unrestrained due to the availability of the option of ‘forwarding/re-sharing/re-posting/re-tweeting’ on the social media platforms,” said the ministry.

It said companies must report any offences “likely to threaten the unity, integrity, sovereignty, security or economic security” of the country, and cooperate swiftly with government agencies to aid investigations.

The government on Monday said it is discussing “legislative action” to overhaul aviation and aircraft security laws, and to make those who make such threats guilty of a serious, or “cognisable”, crime with longer potential sentences.

India regularly ranks among the top five countries globally for the number of requests made by a government to remove social media content.

Last year, an Indian court hit social media platform X with a $61,000 fine after the company unsuccessfully challenged orders to remove posts and accounts critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.