The Centre told the Parliament on Wednesday that it had blocked 596 websites and 735 social media links, including of those groups that are engaged in “flaring up anti-India sentiments”, PTI reported. Responding to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology PP Chaudhary said the government’s action was based on several court orders and recommendations of an expert committee.

“Law enforcement agencies regularly monitor the web and social media and take appropriate action,” said Chaudhary. He added that URLs are blocked whenever these are found “hosting objectionable contents, as per the provisions of rules notified under Section 69A of the IT Act, 2000”.

The minister further said that the misuse of social media and the internet in India was the result of the “virtual and borderless nature of technology”.