Delhi HC seeks SOP from social media apps on supplying info to agencies

The Delhi High Court has asked social media platforms to place before it their standard operating protocol and timelines for dealing with requests for information from law enforcement agencies. A bench headed by Justice Prathiba M Singh observed that it is necessary that proper timelines are followed by the platforms to ensure that any delay does not impede the process of tracing out missing persons, who are sometimes even children. Noting that in some habeas corpus petitions there is a "lag" in relation to furnishing information to the police by the platforms, the court issued notice to several social media entities, including Google, Telegram and X, earlier called Twitter. The court passed the order while dealing with a habeas corpus by the parents of a 19-year-old boy who had allegedly been missing since January. "The platforms shall place on the next date their standard operating protocol for dealing with requests for information from law enforcement agencies including the ...