The Uttar Pradesh Police has filed an FIR against 49 administrators of the Facebook page 'Bua Babua' for hosting defamatory posts against Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, LiveLaw has reported. MediaNama reached out to the UP Police Department, but could not independently verify the development. On November 18, a court in Kannauj (a district in UP) had directed the UP Police to register an FIR in the matter, according to a copy of the judgement. This FIR is the latest in a trend of Indian law enforcement cracking down on social media content. Users of these platforms are increasingly finding themselves criminally liable for content under laws such as sedition and defamation. What's the case against the Facebook page admins in UP? Why was a case filed? The case was filed by an individual named Amit Kumar Yadav alleging that the Facebook page 'Bua Babua' makes indecent or defamatory remarks against SP leader Akhilesh Yadav, according to the court order. What is Bua Babua? 'Bua Babua' is a page that often carries political commentary and videos criticising or poking fun at SP leader Akhilesh Yadav. The term 'Bua Babua' is a reference to the 2019 alliance between Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav in UP. The page is currently active on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at the time of publishing this report. What did the court order? The court observed that the URL and requisite details of the posts were not provided by the applicant, but the archival posts contain abusive language against the…
