India minister facing difficulties tracking social networking content

Govt saw 33 reported incidents of misuse of social networks between April and July. Indian security agencies are facing difficulties in tracking content on social networking websites as they are encrypted, the federal information technology minister said Friday. "The government regularly interacts with telecom service providers and solution service providers to address the issue and implement solutions to the extent possible, keeping in view the security, service and developmental needs of the country," Kapil Sibal told lawmakers in the upper house of parliament. Indian licensing rules make it compulsory for telecom companies to provide facilities for lawful interception and monitoring of communication flowing through their network, including from social networking websites, he said. Between April 2010 and July 2011, as many as 33 incidents of misuse of social networking websites, related to publishing of objectionable content relating to political leaders, religion, national security and individuals, have been reported to the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team, he said. The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team is a federal agency that monitors computer security incidents in the country.