Impossible to Ban Blue Whale Game, Centre Tells Supreme Court - JPKee.com

New Delhi, Nov 21: It is not possible to block online games like the ‘Blue Whale Challenge’ as they are not app-based, the Centre told the Supreme Court on Monday.
As per the reports of Times of India, the government in its affidavit said that, “It is believed that Blue Whale game was being communicated by one-to-one communication through encrypted/ secretive communication links. Hence it is difficult to identify, intercept and analyze the contents.”
“Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) approached leading academic, R&D institutions, cyber security organisations like Indrapastha Institute of Information Technology, CDAC, Data Security Council of India(DSCI) to find out as to how children are accessing this game and what is the source of information. Following responses, MeitY was not able to find any absolute information about the source of information and the availability of the game on internet/ social media,” the government further said in its affidavit.
The apex court then asked all state governments to spread awareness among students about the deadly game. Reportedly, the SC also directed chief secretaries of all states to aware school-going children about the ‘beauty of life’ and the dangers of such games.
Pronouncing the order, the bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra also asked the Union Human Resources Development Ministry to take necessary steps and inform all schools across the country about the drawbacks of games like blue-whale.
Saying that parents have the ‘primary duty’ to ensure that children don’t get ‘trapped in such games’, the court observed that it was incumbent upon parents to ‘instill a sense of optimism and give love and affection’ to such children.
What is Blue Whale Challenge?
The Blue Whale Challenge is a suicide game in which the player is given certain tasks to complete over a period of 50 days and the final task leads him or her to commit suicide.
The challenge starts by asking participants via social media to draw a whale on a piece of paper, then carve a whale figure on their body. It is followed by other tasks such as watching horror movies alone or waking up at unearthly hours.
The tasks also involve self-harm, while the final challenge is to commit suicide. The player is also asked to share photos after finishing each challenge. The game has so far claimed lives of more than 250 people worldwide.
Source link
- #News
Author - Vikash Kumar
No comments: