Ahead Of CJP's Protest, 200 Social Media Takedown Orders Issued

New Delhi: At least 200 orders have been issued by the Delhi Police's cybercrime monitoring department through the Sahyog mobile application to take down social media content linked to the protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, according to people familiar with the matter.

"This is five times the number of orders that are usually issued in a week. Usually, around 40 orders are issued over the course of a week, according to the trends of the last couple of months. Sometimes, the number is even lower," a person familiar with the matter said.

The orders concern content flagged by authorities as a threat to public order, as well as posts critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government, the Delhi Police and government institutions, they said.

The number of orders is likely to rise further as the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protests on October 10, demanding Kumar's ouster. The Delhi Police has stepped up scrutiny of online activity, with additional personnel deployed across the capital ahead of the demonstration.

The 200 orders may represent only a fraction of the total issued, as all Joint Commissioners of Police (Joint CPs) have the authority to issue takedown orders through the Sahyog app. The figure from the social media monitoring department may therefore not capture orders issued by other officers and units.

Sahyog, developed under the Ministry of Home Affairs' Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, is a portal that enables authorised government agencies to send requests to social media platforms and other online intermediaries to remove or disable access to content. Its use has drawn scrutiny over the scope of government takedown powers and the process through which such orders are issued.

The latest orders come amid controversy over the Delhi Police's actions during CJP protests, including its handling of demonstrations and protest-related activity. The police have increased their monitoring of online content associated with the campaign to remove the CEC.