I4C Orders Takedown of Over 3,400 Cybercrime-Related Links; Meta Shows High Compliance
The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), has successfully taken down 3,401 social media links, websites, and WhatsApp groups since March 14 for their involvement in cybercrimes. This move follows I4C’s designation as an agency authorized to issue takedown orders under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, complied with over 90% of these orders, though compliance rates from other online intermediaries were not disclosed.
I4C, established in October 2018, is the second agency under the MHA empowered to issue takedown notices, with the National Crime Records Bureau being the first since 2018. The centre, alongside state law enforcement agencies, has also blocked over 3,000 URLs and 595 apps under Section 69A of the IT Act for cybercrime activities. These blocked entities include phishing links, illegal betting websites, and fraudulent apps.
In its efforts to curb cybercrime, I4C has frozen nearly 3,25,000 mule accounts and revoked 5,30,000 SIM cards and 80,848 IMEI numbers since July 2023. CEO Rajesh Kumar highlighted that cybercriminals exploit telecom infrastructure, internet platforms, and financial services to conduct their activities, necessitating these stringent measures.
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