Nainital: After hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) regarding misuse of photos and videos of people on Facebook through creation of fake IDs, a division bench of the Uttarakhand High Court has issued notice to the director of Facebook India, central and state government, the DGP of Uttarakhand and ASP of Haridwar and gave three weeks' time for their response.
Alok Kumar, a resident of Haridwar, filed the PIL saying in the court that he himself is also a victim in this matter. Along with this, friend requests are being sent by people making fake IDs on Facebook. Kumar stated that after he accepted one such friend request, his photo was edited and an obscene video was made. The maker of the video then demanded money from Kumar and threatened that if his demand was not met, it would be sent to the petitioner's friends and family.
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At the same time, a video was sent to the petitioner. When Kumar complained about this to the SSP Haridwar, DGP and Home Secretary, no action was taken. Following this, he filed an RTI application asking the police in how many such cases, FIR has been registered in Uttarakhand so far. He was told that 45 victims have complained in this regard, which are under consideration.
Stating that social media was being misused in this way and making obscene videos of people and sending these to friends and family was wrong, Kumar said that people were committing suicide for no reason. He added that people have made Facebook a source of earning money illegally.
In the PIL, the petitioner urged the court to direct Facebook to block the IDs of people who upload such obscene videos. Along with this, videos filled with obscenity should also be removed from social media. The PIL also stated that, apart from Facebook, the central and state governments, the DPG and ASP should be instructed to issue a number to which such victims can make calls and lodge their complaints.
