New Delhi, Oct 24:   The Ministry of Information Technology on Wednesday has criticized the social media platform X, operated by Elon Musk, following a significant increase in bomb threats received by airlines. In recent days, over 100 bomb threats have been reported, many shared via social media.

During a virtual meeting with airline and social media representatives, including X and Meta, officials from the IT Ministry stated that the situation represents “X facilitating crime.” They questioned the platform’s actions to prevent the spread of such alarming misinformation.

The meeting was chaired by Joint Secretary of IT, Sanket S Bhondve, amid rising concerns about the panic caused among passengers and the disruption of airline operations. These online threats have led to the diversion of several flights, including international ones, with more than 120 flights operated by Indian airlines affected in recent days. On Tuesday alone, 30 flights from IndiGo, Vistara, and Air India received bomb threats.

Union Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu announced on Monday that those spreading these hoaxes would face strict penalties, including being placed on a no-fly list. The government is also looking to amend the ‘Suppression of Unlawful Acts’ against the ‘Safety of Civil Aviation Act’ to allow action against offenses that occur while an aircraft is on the ground. Currently, existing aviation security regulations mainly focus on in-flight incidents.

Naidu noted that legal amendments are underway, and additional consultations with other ministries will be necessary to address these issues. He stated, “We are pushing forward to amend the Act to cover offenses that occur when the flight is on the ground and to classify them as cognizable offenses.”

In response to the hoax threats, airlines have followed standard operating procedures to ensure passenger safety. Notably, last week, an Air India flight from Mumbai to New York was diverted to Delhi due to a bomb threat.