QUESTION 17
GS3
12.5 marks
Use of internet and social media by non-state actors for subversive activities is a major security concern. How have these been misused in the recent past? Suggest effective guidelines to curb the above threat.
WRITE IN
9 min
200 words
What the examiner wants
Show how non-state actors misused internet and social media recently and suggest guidelines to curb it.
How... SuggestAnswer exactly what the question asks.
Demand-wise check
- 1Misuse: radicalisation and recruitment (ISIS), propaganda, hate and fake videos inciting riots, coordinating stone pelting, terror financing, encrypted communication≈45 words
- 2Examples: 2012 North-East exodus from Bengaluru, Muzaffarnagar 2013 fake video, ISIS handle from Bengaluru 2014, Kashmir 2016≈45 words
- 3Guidelines: legal powers (IT Act 69A), platform accountability, counter-narratives, cyber cells, international cooperation, digital literacy, safeguards for free speech≈45 words
Open in about 30 words and close in about 30.
Answer plan
ThreatExamplesLegal and institutional responseGuidelinesConclusion
Where marks usually go
- Proposing blanket bans that ignore free speech law
- No Indian case like the 2012 North-East exodus or Muzaffarnagar fake video
Draw this
- Table: misuse type → example → counter-measure
Value addition
- CaseShreya Singhal v Union of India (2015) struck down Section 66A but upheld blocking under Section 69A with safeguards.Supreme Court, 2015
- ExampleIn 2014 Bengaluru police arrested Mehdi Masroor Biswas, who ran the pro-ISIS Twitter handle @ShamiWitness.Bengaluru, 2014
- RuleIT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 require traceability for significant messaging platforms.MeitY, 2021
Mapped topper copies
Reviewed public-source references related to this PYQ. Same-syllabus references are labelled separately.
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 21 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Mayank Purohit · AIR 33 · Page 11 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Aniket Ranjan · AIR 48 · Page 19 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 47 ↗Same syllabus reference
Links open original public sources. MainsBuddy does not host these answer sheets.
Next: plan for one minute, write it in 9 minutes, then get it checked.