Derogatory material unacceptable on internet: Sibal

As a controversy raged over monitoring offensive content on internet platforms, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal today asked social websites like Google and Facebook to ensure that uploading of derogatory material is stopped.

Maintaining that the government does not want to interfere with the press, he said if the social networking sites are not willing to cooperate with the government on stopping incendiary material "then it is the duty of the government to think of steps that we need."

"This government does not believe in sensation and does not believe either directly or indirectly interefering in the freedom of the press. We have demonstrated that time and again," he said.

Sibal's hurriedly called press conference against backdrop of government's meetings with the officials from Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Yahoo over last few weeks after offensive material partucularly against Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was put on the net.

He said his request for cooperation from them fell on "deaf ears" and "we will not allow intermediaries to say that the throw up our hands and we cannot do anything about it."

Even as Sibal defended the government's move, criticism poured in the cyber space that India should not emulate countries like China in attempting to gag freedom of expression.

However, the Minister got support from Shashi Tharoor, Congress MP, who is popular in cyber world. "Have to say I support Kapil Sibal on the examples he gave me: deeply offensive material about religions & communities that could incite riots," Tharoor tweeted.

But his political rivals and MPs Varun Gandhi and Jayant Choudhary differed.