Social Crackdown: Government versus Social Media Giants

Hey guys😳, hope you all are doing well..as such I guess the right person to ask that question to right now would be the executives at Social Media Giants like Twitter and Facebook.

As you would have noticed on TV channels and social media sites, there is a frenzy going on over a likely ban on Twitter, Facebook, Whatsapp, etc. for non compliance to Government Rules.These corporates are due to lose their status as intermediaries for failing to comply with the Ministry of Information Technology's new Rules. As an intermediary the SM giants are protected from any third party liability. A loss of such protection would mean they are open to criminal proceedings in India.

Now before opening the debate on this latest development, let's understand some of the new requirements that the Ministry has mandated the SM giants to follow- appointing india based grievance redressal official, taking down any reported content within around 36hours of reporting, identifying original poster of any forwarded communication, auto ban of p**n, etc. The Rules were notified in February 2021 and SM giants were required to comply by 25th May, 2021. As on date, Facebook has agreed to partially comply to the Rules whereas Whatsapp has filed a petition before Delhi High Court. Twitter has remained incommunicado on the topic. The major reason Facebook and Whatsapp have given to oppose this Rule is that it violates right to free speech and privacy.

In this background, what do you guys think, who is right? Are the SM giants above the law of the land? Or is the Government trying to control these SM to control free speech?

Let's debate...

I would like to further the point that Armu4Eva is trying to make that all companies operating in India and having offices in India should follow Indian Law. Privacy and Freedom of expression is important but at the same time National Security is also important.

I will share what I broadly think on the issue and I have limited knowledge and understanding on the same.

Basic premise is that Social media is HUGE and today the central hub for dissemination of all kinds of information/misinformation and any misuse of which can really create havoc and endanger people. So there has to be checks and balances in place to counter these things in a timely manner. Some things the platform themselves do take care of but there are times where these platforms do exercise their power to influence based on their biases and on others.

People are mixing too many things like banning, privacy breach, freedom of expression etc.

Letter to Social media sites

All significant social media sites which has over 5 million registered users having office and operating in India should provide the following:

a) Chief Compliance Officer contact etc, whom should the government agencies contact in case there is a compliance issue.

b) All reports should be handled in a timely manner. It includes certain content that is in violation of Indian Law should be taken down.

Regarding the WhatsApp case:

With regards to WhatsApp legal issue Government is not asking to share what two people are talking needs to be shared.

In the event there is some fake news / video that has gone viral on WhatsApp and government needs assistance in terms of identifying the originator of that message. To which WhatsApp is saying that it is not possible due to their both-side encryption and stuff.

Well and as much I understand its not that difficult given WhatsApp anyway understands which message is being "forwarded many times" without hampering both side encryption or privacy. WhatsApp just need to give the phone number or the IP Address of the originator. Which most of the social media sites already does if they get a formal request from the agencies.

Regarding Twitter controversy:

Well controversy and twitter is nothing new and its a known fact that Twitter has a left-leaning bias which their CEO has admitted on record.

Coming to the "Manipulated Media" tag that has been put up by Twitter on certain tweets for which the Delhi police is chasing them to share the proof based on which they marked it as "manipulated" and this has created the furore on both sides.

However my limited point on this is that it was wrong one Twitter part to mark it as such without sharing any detail on why and how it came to that conclusion.

BTW I am not contesting Twitter's power to de-platform any user or delete any post as per their terms of use as its a private company. May be if they had tagged it saying: "Contents in Dispute" with the link to the FIR copy it would have been much better.

See, in my view, there are 2 sides here. There's the "noble" side and then there's the "implied" point.

The "noble" deed here is that a government is trying to reduce the amount of fake news, indecent content, unnecessary trolling and hate, etc. that happens online. SM is no longer a safe haven for discussions. You post anything and someone will find a reason to troll you or hate on you for it. So yes, in the "noble" side of it, I do agree with this law.

But here's the "implied" point. The Indian government is presenting the noble side, but really they're looking for ways to reduce free speech. They are out to get those who will criticize the government in any way. This much is evident from the way they have been conducting themselves since this pandemic's second round began. They aren't looking to save lives, they're looking to make themselves look good. And the timing of this crackdown is very suspect. Why did it take them over 8 years to realize that SM is a breeding ground for hatred? Why did it take them over 8 years to realize that SM has become a place for indecent content and unnecessary hate?

This whole thing is nothing more than a sham meant to make themselves look good online as well. But unfortunately even a ban on SM is not going to silence voices. This discontent is here to stay.

I am happy Govt realized they needed some sort of checks on the various social media ... better late then never .

I feel they should have opened Indian sites and offered users an alternative before just banning all these media like a bolt from the blue .

I want to know who has the time and energy to screen what the millions of users are posting every second ?? which Indian agency will monitor this ?

Will the other countries help Indians by creating a new app to assist Govt to monitor SM ??

Hope this monitoring job does not fall into Chinese/foreign hands again !!

I personally do not think there is any plausible reason to bring these laws into action. Twitter/Insta/Facebook has its own rules which makes it mandatory for us to avoid any sort of discussions regarding triggering topics or topics attacking people or any community. If the govt is bringing a ban, it directly curtails the freedom of speech. If there is censoring done even on social media platforms, where are we supposed to post our concerns? Wouldn't it be easy for the govt to just remove any criticism against them? China is a very good example of what internet censorship does to a country. I do not think there is any justification for these rules govt is trying to implement.

I personally feel that any corporation has to obey the law of the land but if there are specific concerns with any clause, there should be an opportunity for discussion and resolution. However, the timing of the Government's announcement of Rules is suspect and one must wonder if freedom of speech is really being violated by the new Rules and if so, Courts are the right authority to decide the matter.

The Indian government’s orders banning international social media apps for not complying with new local guidelines are as damaging to the country as they are for these companies. While the traceability rule is nearly impossible for some to accept, the sheer haste with which the government is acting is ludicrous, experts believe. In comparison to the government’s knee-jerk policing, the other countries' General Data Protection Regulation gave companies the needful leverage to frame/follow their own rules to protect their interests as well as the users' interest. If the government chooses to mandate traceability is effectively mandating a new form of mass surveillance, then the company has to compromise / violate its own assurance given to its users.

Putting curbs on user-friendly social media apps is considered by many as unconstitutional and an attack on the internet freedom as well as personal freedom. They affect each entity, be it Indian or international, and they affect every Indian user who uses it as a platform to present their relevant social, political and other opinions on diverse topics. These rules need to be fine-tuned if the government is firmly convinced that they are necessary. If they go beyond the ambit of what the law allows , then I hope the supreme authority, the judiciary will strike down some rules to protect the end users' interests.

So there are some subsequent developments which is interesting. The Government has reacted sharply to the Whatsapp lawsuit and stated that freedom of expression is not absolute which is what the Supreme Court had ruled a few years back. Now it will be interesting to see how Whatsapp reacts on this.

As for Twitter, they have rather voiced concern for the safety of their employees in India after the police crackdown and aired apprehension on the freedom of speech of Indian citizens.

Looks like the Social Tussle has just begun😳

Originally posted by: Armu4eva

So there are some subsequent developments which is interesting. The Government has reacted sharply to the Whatsapp lawsuit and stated that freedom of expression is not absolute which is what the Supreme Court had ruled a few years back. Now it will be interesting to see how Whatsapp reacts on this.

As for Twitter, they have rather voiced concern for the safety of their employees in India after the police crackdown and aired apprehension on the freedom of speech of Indian citizens.

Looks like the Social Tussle has just begun😳

IMHO Twitter is just trying to act smart and raise the bogey of Freedom of Expression.

Here is the official response of the Indian Government to Twitter and explains their stand:

https://twitter.com/GoI_MeitY/status/1397895486904836096?s=20

I think the press release from the Government clears a lot of myth around this issue.

People venting out on social media should not be taken seriously by govt. However social media affects everyone in different ways. For govt, it should be a tool to oversee any national securities issue not take each and every thing people are saying at a personal level. Yes there are flaws in govt and each system, people will talk about it there is no place other than social media to express concern. These concerns should be looked and changes can be implemented or not its the final call of the system talked on as per laws present under the govt.

I somehow see where the govt is coming from, they do realize people have started taking social media with anything and everything they can vent on. For professionalism sake entities business and Govt should focus on the law and let social media be in its place not give it the utmost importance other than taking or noting the issues brought up in social media.

These apps not only have brought world closer but also countries can reach each other quite easily with Whatsapp and Instagram this is growth and banning would decline the growth India has touched on by social media.

They may issue some laws pertaining National Securities of the country for these apps. Banning is not the solution to the foreseen problems of social media.