An alarming number of hoax bomb threats have been sent to several of India’s largest airlines over the past few days. These dangers, which have numbered north of 100 in seven days, have set off the specialists to actuate crisis conventions to guarantee traveler security. However, the Indian government has now publicly criticized X, the social media platform that was formerly known as Twitter, for not doing enough to stop the numerous hoax bomb threats, given that the majority of them have come from accounts on X. Over the course of the past week, there has been an alarming increase in the number of bomb threats that have been issued to airlines operating from Delhi; in fact, in the eight days that have passed, more than 150 flights have received fake threats, and pilots have preferred to land the plane This has unsurprisingly resulted in widespread flight delays, including those from Vistara, Air India, IndiGo, and Akasa. On October 16, the first bomb threat was made, and it was for an Akasa Air flight that was headed for Bengaluru. As a result of these threats, the threatened flights have been diverted since then, resulting in cascading delays.
The government asserts that content distribution management is the responsibility of X and other social media platforms. The criticism leveled by the Indian government is not without merit, particularly considering that social media platforms are obligated to regulate and monitor content. This turns out as expected for content that can actuate public frenzy (like the bomb dangers), and from its vibes, X’s apparatuses for content balance has not prevailed in such manner.
The majority of these bomb threats came from unidentified accounts on X, which were later taken down by the authorities. Following a virtual meeting on the subject, officials from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) have now accused the platform owned by Elon Musk of “aiding crime.” Joint Secretary Sanket S. Bhondve presided over the meeting, which also included airline representatives. “The role of the platform amounts to encouraging crime,” Bhondve stated.
The matter is currently under investigation by the Delhi Police, which has already filed eight cases related to the incidents. The affected accounts on X are @adamlanza111, @psychotichuman, and @schizobomer777. It has been noted that they used dark web browsers and virtual private networks (VPNs) to hide their activities. Since the police have been unable to locate the user IDs associated with these accounts thus far, it appears that they have achieved their goal.
The situation is currently being addressed by authorities. The Indian government is considering introducing legislative action to deal with the situation, despite the fact that cybersecurity agencies are working to suspend or block nearly ten additional social media handles that are believed to be linked to the threats. In addition to installing more security cameras and conducting more stringent checks at security checkpoints, the authorities running the airport are concentrating on improving security.
The Civil Aviation Minister, K. Rammohan Naidu, made the following statement regarding the situation: “We are trying to make amendments and the legal team has worked on it… We need consultations with other ministries also… we are definitively pushing forward to have changes in the Act also so that it addresses offenses that happen when the flight is on the ground and also make it cognizable offence.” Those who are found to have made hoax bomb threats will undoubtedly face severe consequences. This includes being put on a list of people who can’t fly (which would make it harder for them to get on planes in the future).
