Working ‘around the clock’ to prevent flight threats in India, Twitter says

Several dozen Indian flights have faced hoax threats over the past few days [File]
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

A spokesperson for X, formerly Twitter, said on Thursday that the company was committed to crack down on terror threats being made on the platform against Indian flights. The statement comes a day after a reported meeting where an official from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology accused the social media platform of “abetting” those issuing such threats.

“We prohibit violent threats on X and take any such reports seriously,” the spokesperson for the social media platform said in response to a query from The Hindu. “That includes and is not limited to threats to harm civilian infrastructure essential to daily, civic or business activities. Our teams, systems and reporting channels are at work around the clock to keep X safer for all our users in India.”

Sanket Bhondve, a joint secretary at the ministry in charge of, among other things, issuing takedown orders on behalf of the government to social media platforms, had reportedly issued a rebuke to social media platforms, particularly X, for not doing enough to crack down on these threatening messages.

X did not address the official’s remarks directly, and Mr. Bhondve did not respond to multiple calls and messages seeking comment on the meeting.

Several dozen Indian flights have faced hoax threats over the past few days. Flights operated by IndiGo, Vistara and Air India — both domestic and international — have faced threats. While some of these flights were redirected, others were delayed, with passengers deplaned as airport security agents scoured through passengers’ luggage for explosives. 

Minister for Civil Aviation Rammohan Naidu said that while all these threats turned out fake, aviation security could not be compromised, and promised that steps would be taken against the culprits, including steps like putting them on a no-fly list.