Toxic troll

• India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri’s account on X (formerly Twitter) was flooded with abusive comments after a peace agreement was announced between the two countries.

• Misri’s account was locked, and diplomats and politicians condemned the toxic culture.

• The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) remained quiet about the trolling of Misri and the doxing of his daughter.

• The rise of social media in India and lack of Internet literacy have led to a pattern of hate speech, abusive comments, and deliberate distortion of facts.

• Surveys show that women, minorities, and marginalized communities are particularly targeted by trolls.

• A stringent anti-troll law is needed to stop the harassment trolls can cause.

• The draft Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Rules, 2025, prescribe penalties for misuse of personal information.

• Courts have been proactive in directing the removal of offending content and mandating the disclosure of basic subscriber information linked to such accounts.