The US opposes incitement to violence on social media while supporting freedom of expression, according to State Department Spokesperson Ned Price. He said, “We’ve made the point both when it comes to India and to countries around the world that freedom of expression, freedom of information is a hallmark of any democracy.”

Asked at his briefing on Thursday about freedom of expression and the social media being used as a tool to incite violence against the government as it happened in the US, Price said, “Of course, hate speech, incitement to violence is something that we oppose everywhere. But clearly, we support freedom of expression, while still calling out and condemning when we see incitement to violence and hate speech.”

That question followed one about US reactions to reports that comments critical of the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been removed within India by social media operators at the government's request.

He added, “Of course, India is a large democracy with whom we share foundational values, and freedom of information, freedom of expression is something we support around the world.”

Some rioters supporting former President Donald Trump, who stormed the Congress in January, and others used social media to mobilise.

The US government has not ordered the social media companies to take down posts that incite violence, but the operators have done so themselves with uneven result (SAM)