FIR against Instagram for showing objectionable Lord Shiva sticker with wine glass & phone

In the latest development, an FIR has been lodged in Delhi against social media platform Instagram for allegedly showing Lord Shiva in an objectionable manner. The FIR, filed by Delhi resident Manish Singh, was lodged against Instagram after stickers depicting Lord Shiva with a glass some liquid that perhaps most closely resembles wine & a mobile phone in his hands whilst winking were seen available in the platform's story section. The complaint was lodged against Instagram for allegedly hurting the sentiments of the Hindus.

FIR against Instagram for depicting Lord Shiva in objectionable manner

The sticker can be found by users searching Shiva in the search box while uploading an Instagram story. As per the complainant, these stickers were provided by Instagram itself and not any social media user. Further, the complainant claimed that the GIF had been created with the sole intention to allegedly hurt the Hindu community and requested an FIR to be lodged against the CEO other officials of Instagram. As per reports, many complaints have been raised over the objectionable sticker available on Instagram. 

Centre's new guidelines for social media explained

On February 25, the Centre released The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 for regulating content on OTT platforms and social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The new IT guidelines have been released to make the social media platforms more responsible and accountable for the content that they allow the users to put out on their platforms.

With the new social media rules, platforms will be required to disclose the first originator of a mischievous tweet or message which could be in relation to the sovereignty of India, the security of the state, relations with foreign states, rape, etc. Moreover, in a move that caused a stir, the government ordered that social media platforms would be bound under the law to remove any content flagged by authorities within 36 hours. Additionally, they had to set up a complaint redressal mechanism with an officer being based in the country to resolve the matter.