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Cyber security and misuse of social networking sites was one of the main focus of the top police brass who gathered here for an annual conference as government made it clear that freedom of expression cannot be an explanation for spreading mischievous rumours to foment trouble.

Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, while addressing the chief of police forces who gathered for three-day meet of Directors General and Inspectors General of police here, said that as the country moves along the path of modernisation newer challenges emerge.

"Government has succeeded in increasing the density and spread of internet connectivity to village level. This has made us prone to sophisticated cyber crimes and attacks."

"Extensive networking of computer systems, particularly in sensitive areas has increased our vulnerability to such attempts from hostile elements. Security agencies and police forces would need to develop expertise for a coordinated response to counter these problems," he said at the conference being organised by Intelligence Bureau.

Shinde said a related issue was that of misuse of social media and added that "while government favours freedom of expression, mischievous use of this medium to foment trouble needs to be checked".

"Last year, social media was exploited by vested interests to generate fear amongst the people of the North East in Bangalore. More recently, the Muzaffarnagar riots were fanned by similar misuse."

On the subject of misuse of cyber space, Shinde drew attention to attempts being made to revive militancy in certain places by unleashing distorted narrative about emotive events and issues on internet to mislead and misguide youth.

"One such sinister attempt was nipped in the bud by an alert Punjab Police. It had come to notice recently that in Punjab some self-radicalised groups had made attempts to vitiate the atmosphere by targeting some important leaders."

"We need to closely monitor such situations arising out of the pernicious propaganda circulating on certain websites," he said.

Emerging story. Watch this space for updates as more details come in

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'Freedom of Expression Can't Explain Rumour Spreading'

About one in seven people around the globe use a social networking site at least once a month, and that number is expected to see grow significantly over the next several years.

About 1.61 billion people will use a social networking site, such as Facebook, Google+, Instagram or Twitter, this month, according to eMarketer, a market research company. That's a 14.2% increase from 2012, and double-digit growth is expected to continue through next year.

By 2017, 2.33 billion people will use social networks, the company said.

The World Bank has reported that there were 7.046 billion people last year. That means this year 22.8% of the world's population is using social networks at least every month.

By 2017, when some estimates show the world population reaching 7.44 billion, 31.3% of the world will be using social networks, according to eMarketer.

The company also noted that while the number of social network users is growing, that growth rate is slowing.

For instance, 2012 showed a year-over-year growth rate of 17.6%, but this year's growth slipped to 14.2%. By 2017, the growth rate is expected to slide to show 7.6%.

The world's largest social networking site, Facebook, should reach 1.026 billion monthly users by the end of this year, eMarketer estimates.

The U.S. has the most monthly Facebook users with 146.8 million.

Currently, the Netherlands has the highest penetration of social media users with 63.5%. Norway comes in second with 63.3%. The U.S. was sixth at 51.7%

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One out of seven people use social networks, study shows

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Discriminatory language is as pervasive on sites like Facebook and Twitter as it was a couple of years ago, but fewer teens and young adults seem to be OK with that, a recent survey found.

About half of young people reported seeing discriminatory language or images posted on social-networking sites, according to the results of a survey released Wednesday by the Associated Press-National Opinion Research Center for Public Affairs Research and MTV. Roughly the same findings were made in a 2011 survey.

The language might include misogynistic and homophobic words and phrases such as thats so gay. Many young people use such language, the survey found, to try to be funny or because they think its cool.

But that thinking might be changing. Compared to 2011, nearly 20 percent fewer teenagers and people in their early 20s said it was OK for them and their friends to use discriminatory language around each other, even when they know they dont mean it, the survey found.

Also, nearly 80 percent of young people said its important for people who use slurs or discriminatory language online to be held accountable for their actions, according to the survey.

The AP-NORC centers survey was conducted to get a better look at discrimination and bullying trends online, and to see how teenagers and young adults respond to it. Some of the groups most frequently targeted by discriminatory language are people who are overweight, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, those who question their gender identity, blacks, and women, the survey found. The most popular sites for hurtful language were YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and gaming networks like Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network.

However, its unclear from the survey results whether teenagers and young adults would really do anything to stop the use of such language, based on the survey results. Less than half said they would intervene if they saw someone using discriminatory language or images on social media, a 15 percent decline from 2011, the survey found.

Sixty percent said they would take action if the language were used in person. But whether its online or in the real world, many said they wouldnt intervene because they wouldnt feel comfortable doing so.

Tumblr, Snapchat and Reddit had less discriminatory language than other social media sites, according to the survey.

The survey included more than 1,200 people ages 14-24 who were interviewed in September and October.

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Study: Slurs still litter social websites, but such language is increasingly unacceptable