News Analysis India

Tag: Twitter

  • Will attack media freedom, privacy: Experts on Centre’s regulations on social media

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The government’s new regulations for social media platforms and over-the-top (OTT) players Thursday evoked divergent responses from experts with one section welcoming them, some saying they would be valid till they contain reasonable restrictions while few opposed on grounds of infringement of privacy and free speech under the Constitution.

    The move drew sharp criticism from Siddharth Varadarajan, editor of digital news platform The Wire who said it amounted to killing freedom of the press.

    BJP leaders, however, welcomed the guidelines saying they give a fair opportunity to users.

    The Centre Thursday announced sweeping regulations for social media firms like Facebook and Twitter as well as OTT players such as Netflix, requiring them to remove any content flagged by authorities within 36 hours and setting up a complaint redressal mechanism with an officer being based in the country.

    The regulations also make it mandatory for platforms such as Twitter and WhatsApp to identify the originator of a message that authorities consider to be anti-national and against security and sovereignty of the country.

    Varadarajan said, “Granting an inter-ministerial committee of bureaucrats the power to pass judgment on what can and can’t be published or to decide on whether a media platform has responded adequately to grievances raised by members of the public has no basis in law and will amount to killing freedom of the press in India.

    ” He further said that the existing laws already define the reasonable restrictions on press freedom in India and “any reader or government official with a grievance is free to seek a legal remedy provided it falls within the four walls of the ‘reasonable restrictions’ defined by the Constitution and 70 years of Indian jurisprudence on them”.

    “The media cannot be compelled to address ‘grievances’ that go beyond that Lakshman Rekha,” he said.

    Bollywood producer Ekta Kapoor and directors Priyadarshan and Vikram Bhatt were mong those who welcomed the guidelines, saying there cannot be creative freedom without responsibility.

    Kapoor, who also runs an OTT platfom Alt Balaji, said the new regulations will provide a level playing field to everyone.

    Priyadarshan, known for films such as “Hera Pheri” and “Hungama”, called it “a great step” by the government, while “Ghulam” director Bhatt said the new guidelines should not be confused with censorship.

    Director Onir, however, said the new guidelines did not favour artistes.

    Political activist and columnist Tehseen Poonawalla was critical about the regulation of digital press, saying it will attack the independence of the media.

    “The Draft IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 are problematic and attack the Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Press. The Govt intends to regulate Digital Press & Media with IT rules . This will attack the independence of the media !!” he tweeted.

    Among the legal fraternity, while senior advocate Ajit Sinha said if the restrictions were reasonable, then the rules can be imposed, senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy said it will impact the privacy rights and the freedom of press.

    Sinha, however, added that the prima facie view is that these social media platforms will be governed by the Indian law and the government will have the power to regulate.

    “The social media rules will be valid till the time they contain reasonable restrictions under Article 19 (freedom of speech and expression). If the restrictions are reasonable then certainly the rules can be imposed”.

    “The prima facie view is that now these social media platforms will be governed by the Indian law. And the government will have the power to regulate. Unreasonable restrictions, if any, in the rules can be the only factor which can be used to challenge them in the court of law,” Sinha said.

    Guruswamy raised the question as to how bureaucrats can decide what the contents of OTT platforms be and the courts are there to hear such concerns.

    She said end-to-end encryption provided by the platforms to protect privacy of the users would end by forcing to reveal the identity of the originator of the content.

    “The new Information Technology Rules, 2021, seek to regulate social media intermediaries like WhatsApp and Signal. By forcing the identity of the originator to be disclosed, this will burden end to end encryption facility that is provided by these platforms. This will impact privacy, speech, express and conscience rights under the Constitution,” Guruswamy said.

    She further said the rules also forced the OTT platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime to be subjected to oversight by the government, which will impact artistic creativity and expression.

    “Who are bureaucrats to decide what the content should be? The courts are already there at present to hear concerns. Finally, the rules by seeking to regulate digital media will hurt freedom of press.”

    “How can you regulate the press by the IT Act? This has not happened before. What happens to freedom of press, speech expression,” she added.

    Welcoming the regulations, advocate Mrinal Bharti said freedom of speech was of paramount importance but it also entailed responsibility and accountability.

    “It’s a welcome step to regulate this platform. Freedom of speech is of paramount importance but it also entails responsibility and accountability. These rules place importance on self governance and ensure a grievance redressal mechanism.”

    “Since, misinformation and misuse needs to be controlled, these rules will pave the way for it. However, it will be interesting to watch how this unfolds,” Bharti said.

    Senior advocate Dushyant Dave and lawyer Vrinda Grover did not offer their views, saying they would react after going through the guidelines.

    Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said there is a need for an institutional mechanism for all media platforms to exercise a responsible freedom.

    “TV and print media have certain codes but there are no such rules for OTT platforms and digital platforms yet. There have to be some rules for digital platforms.

    There is a need for an institutional mechanism for all media platforms as every freedom has to be responsible freedom,” he said.

  • Govt working on law to regulate social media: Ram Madhav

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Senior BJP leader Ram Madhav said that social media has become so powerful that it can even topple governments, leading to anarchy and weakening democracy, and solutions to tackle this are needed to be found within the constitutional framework.

    Speaking at the launch of his new book ‘Because India Comes First’, Madhav said democracy is stressed and facing new challenges with the rise of “non-political” and “non-state” forces.

    “Social media is so powerful that it can even topple governments and regulating them is difficult as they are borderless.

    These forces can promote anarchy, which will weaken democracy but solutions should be within the constitutional framework,” he said at the event hosted by the Prabha Khaitan Foundation on Saturday evening.

    The existing laws are not adequate for this, he said.

    “We require new rules and laws to tackle and manage. The government is already working in this direction,” he added.

    Madhav’s comments come amid a row between the government and Twitter over blocking of accounts with Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asking the micro-blogging site to follow the Indian law.

    Besides, the Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Centre and Twitter on a plea, seeking to regulate hate content and to make a law as per which action can be initiated against Twitter and their representatives in India for willfully abetting and promoting anti-India tweets and penalise them.

    Madhav said that in his new book he has penned his observations on several decisions of the Modi government.

    Answering a question on Gandhi, he said the RSS does not undermine any leader’s contribution.

    Gandhi was a great leader and his mantra of Ahimsa has been adopted by many global leaders, he said.

    “There may be differences of opinion, which we even find between Nehru and Gandhi from the letters exchanged between them but that does not mean we disrespect a national leader.

    In the RSS morning prayer, we have Gandhi’s name along with other leaders,” Madhav said.

    On Kashmir, he said that with the abrogation of Article 370, grassroot leaders are coming up against the hegemony of a few families.

    He also emphasised that it is the responsibility of the people of the country to make Kashmiris feel that they are part of the 1.3-billion-strong family.

    “Kashmiris are victims of propaganda for long. Things are changing but may take some time,” he said.

  • Not here to compete with Twitter, says co-founder of Koo Mayank Bidawatka

    Express News Service
    BENGALURU: Indian micro-blogging platform Koo surged into prominence last month after a number of prominent personalities, including Union ministers, joined the platform, especially after Twitter refused to comply with the Central Government’s directives on taking action against some users. Koo is being promoted as an Indian alternative to Twitter. But Koo co-founder Mayank Bidawatka says that the platform was not created to compete with Twitter, but only to help connect those who speak native Indian languages. Excerpts.

    How is Koo different from other platforms like Twitter? What are its unique features?We are a nation of 1.3 billion people, but just 10 per cent understand or prefer English as a language. That leaves out at least a billion people who are comfortable with some native Indian language. We realised that there is very little participation of these people on Twitter. With Koo, people can select a language that they are comfortable with which is a major difference from Twitter.

    Users can also get a list of people based on their language and choose to follow them. We show content creators, celebrities and VIPs in a particular language which is not a feature in Twitter. It is a very focused approach to benefit the creator and user by showing right kind creatives. In Twitter, however, everything is search-based.

    Will it be an Indian alternative to Twitter and other global platforms?Twitter is a great global platform. I think they have democratised the voice of the world. I have great respect for Twitter. Let me make it very clear that our objective is not to compete with them. I am a Twitter user and am able to connect with so many global people that I would never have access to otherwise. Koo has been created so that Indians who do not speak English also get a voice on a micro-blog. No country in the world has as many languages as India does.

    A lot of people feel marginalised as they don’t have a platform to connect with other people. A lot of things that have happened in the recent past make it seem like we are competing with Twitter, but that was never our plan.You received $4 million funding recently…Funding was raised with the participation of one of our new investors and it will basically be used for product development.

    Are you in talks with Indian venture capitalists?We have received a lot of interest from VCs and we will engage with them.

    There is an impression that Koo is a government-backed platform… We are humbled by the trust and faith that has been placed on us as a platform, which is being joined by some prominent politicians and people running the government. It helps bridge the gap between people who want to know and people who want to say something. I think the government is a very important cog in the wheel as far as communication with citizens is concerned. But the platform is not government-backed, but is government-trusted.  

    A lot of events have aligned themselves and worked in our favour.  In August, we had participated in an app challenge run by the government, which had around 7,000 entries. From among them, they selected around 20-24 apps, and we were one of them. We were not just creating another micro-blogging platform, but a true micro-blog for India and Indian languages.  The government recognises that most people do not speak English or prefer English as a primary language, which is why the platform was found to be interesting. The government recognises that we need to create the Aatmanirbhar ecosystem in different industries. We just happen to be at the right place at the right time.

    The internet is supposed to ensure the free flow of information. How do you intend to strike a balance between following overnment guidelines and allowing people to express themselves freely?It is important to work within the legal framework. If you don’t do that you are disrespecting the law of the land. Social media is social because it is by the people and for the people. In case of newspapers, publishers are liable for anything written, but in the case of social media, since we are not content creators, the liability lies with the creator, which is why verification becomes an important tool to manage the responsibility that citizens are given.

     Article 19 of the Constitution talks about freedom of speech and there are certain legalities that supercede that right. 99.99 per cent of the content generated on social media is normal and harmless. You will have some unscrupulous elements trying to create havoc. It is very difficult and manually impossible to track down every little content like that. You have to depend on certain technologies and community effort for that. We are using various algorithms that help us identify such content and we have also put in place features that help the community identify such content and highlight it to the creator.

    What is being done to protect user privacy data, which has been flagged by users?Koo got prominence in India and also spoke of globally. There are enough people trying to hack into our systems to show us in bad light. Some people are talking about data privacy issues by using information that the users have made public.  Data security is an important issue and we take it seriously.  It is difficult to break into our system.

  • Twitter to add more labels to identify accounts of govt leaders, institutions

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Twitter has said it will add labels to identify more government leaders and associated institutions from the next week to provide people with context to what they see and have a “more informed experience” on the microblogging platform.

    Twitter said the roll-out will begin in Canada, Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, Germany, Honduras, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates from February 17.

    India, however, was not part of the list.

    In August last year, Twitter had expanded account labels to two additional categories, the accounts of key government officials and those belonging to state-affiliated media entities.

    This also included accounts from countries represented in the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US).

    “After receiving feedback on this initial action from a range of stakeholders, including civil society, academia, and those who use our service on Wednesday, February 17, we will expand these labels to accounts from Group of Seven (G7) countries, and to a majority of countries that Twitter has attributed state-linked information operations to,” Twitter said in a blogpost on Thursday.

    It added that these labels will also be applied to the personal accounts of heads of state for these countries.

    “The immediate next phase will be to apply these labels to state-affiliated media entities of these phase two countries. Beyond this, we will continue expanding labels to additional countries over time and look forward to providing additional updates as those plans take shape,” it said.

    Twitter has been facing flak over the past few weeks for accounts and posts with provocative content and misinformation around farmers’ protest.

    The government had issued a stern warning to the microblogging platform to comply with local laws or be prepared for action.

    According to sources, Twitter has blocked over 97 per cent of the accounts and posts flagged by the IT ministry.

    In its latest blog post, Twitter said labels will be added to verified accounts of key government officials, including foreign ministers, institutional entities, ambassadors, official spokespeople, and key diplomatic leaders.

    The focus being senior officials and entities “who are the official voice of the state abroad”, it added.

    “We’re also updating the label text to add more specificity to the government account labels by differentiating between individuals and institutions, and expanding labels to the personal accounts of heads of state to give people on Twitter additional context,” it added.

    Twitter said as the next phase of this project, it will work to apply additional labels on state-affiliated media accounts over the next several months, taking an iterative approach to ensure it captures all relevant accounts.

    “Our mission is to serve the public conversation and an important part of that work is providing people with context so they can make informed decisions about what they see and how they engage on Twitter,” the company said.

  • Union Minister Prakash Javadekar joins indigenous Twitter replica ‘Koo’

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar on Friday began using India’s micro-blogging platform ‘Koo’, joining several ministers who already created their accounts on it.

    Making the announcement through his Twitter handle, Javadekar said, “I am now on #Koo also, the #MakeInIndia micro-blogging platform.

    Follow me @prakashjavadekar on #KooApp. The application was launched 10 months ago but in the last few weeks, it saw a massive surge in user base as Union ministers and government departments have endorsed the homegrown microblogging platform amid a spat with Twitter.

    ALSO READ | ‘Aatmanirbhar’ Koo pads up and faces Chinese funding queries, data leak worries

    Minister of Railways, Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Tuesday tweeted that he was on Koo and asked people to connect with him.

    The information technology ministry used Koo to broadcast its stand on Twitter’s non-compliance with its order to take down allegedly inflammatory content by some farmer protesters, while ministers urged people to switch platforms.

    These developments have led to a surge in the user base of the Indian rival.

    Koo, which has startling similarities with Twitter, now has over three million users, Koo co-founder Mayank Bidawataka had told PTI on Thursday.

    ALSO READ | Amid full-blown freedom-of-speech spat with Twitter, government begins Koo-ing

    Koo has a yellow bird as its logo in contrast to the blue bird of Twitter.

    “We had two million users with about 1.5 million active users. Now, we have now crossed the 3 million-mark,” Bidawataka had told PTI.

    Twitter has 17.5 million users and is ardently used by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Cabinet ministers to communicate with the public.

  • Twitter blocks Rajya Sabha MP Chaudhary Sukhram Singh Yadav’s account in India

    By Online Desk
    Samajwadi Party’s Rajya Sabha member Chaudhary Sukhram Singh Yadav’s Twitter account was withheld in India ‘in response to a legal demand’.

    The Uttar Pradesh MP confirmed to MediaNama that the account “@MPSukhram”, which is not verified by Twitter, is his official handle on the microblogging platform.

    This is one of the high-profile accounts that Twitter has withheld in India, raising questions over breach of privilege.

    Twitter on Wednesday said it has suspended over 500 accounts and blocked access to several others within India as it partly acceded to a government order to curb the spread of misinformation and inflammatory content around farmers’ protests.

    Twitter, in a blog post, said it has not blocked accounts consisting of “news media entities, journalists, activists and politicians” as doing so “would violate their fundamental right to free expression” guaranteed under the country’s laws.

  • Amid row with Twitter, Prasad says social media platforms should follow Indian law

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Amid a row with Twitter over blocking of accounts, India on Thursday warned social media platforms of strict action for failure to crack down on inflammatory content, saying they have to fully comply with the country’s law.

    A day after his ministry rebuked Twitter for not complying with its orders to take down inflammatory content, Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said social media platforms cannot give differential treatment while handling problems on Capitol Hill and the Red Fort.

    The government, he said, was committed to freedom of media and rights of individuals but it was equally concerned about safety, security, and law and order in the country.

    “Please don’t spread enmity, violence and misinformation. Please follow the Constitution of India and the law of the land (otherwise we will be very strict),” he said replying to a question in Rajya Sabha.

    On Wednesday, his ministry had expressed displeasure at Twitter for failing to remove all of the over 1,100 accounts and posts it alleged spread misinformation about the widespread protests by farmers against new agricultural laws.

    Prasad said the social media companies took immediate action when riots broke out at Capitol Hill in Washington but ignored similar action when farm bill protestors ran riot at Red Fort on Republic Day.

    “This double standard would not work here,” he said flagging inflammatory content, especially those with the hashtag of Modi planning farmers’ genocide.

    “Yeh kya mazak hai? (What kind of a joke is this?),” he said.

    The Constitution of India guarantees freedom of speech but Article 19 (2) also says that it is subject to reasonable restrictions because of the “sovereignty and integrity” of India.

    Prasad said that while social media platforms have their own self-regulatory mechanism to check and evaluate inflammatory content, that does not mean they will not follow the Indian rules.

    “This will not work here,” he said.

    Asked about steps taken by the government to check the spread of misinformation on social media, he said “We have recently flagged Twitter” on the issue.

    His ministry officials are in talks with Twitter on the issue.

    On Wednesday, the government told Twitter’s representatives that the microblogging site has to follow its orders and that it was not a subject matter of negotiation.

    The government was riled after Twitter in a public blog post said it has taken down only half of the accounts and posts flagged by the government.

    “In keeping with our principles of defending protected speech and freedom of expression, we have not taken any action on accounts that consist of news media entities, journalists, activists, and politicians,” it had said.

    Prasad, however, took exception to selectively applying rules.

    “Microblogging companies stand by police when they take action after Capitol Hill of Washington is ransacked.

    But when there is an attack on Red Fort, which is a sign of our dignity, they oppose (action),” the minister said.

    “This double standard would not work here.

    ” He qualified his statement by saying the government respects their good work and the foreign investment they bring into the country.

    “We respect your good work.

    You do business, bring FDI and money but you have to respect the laws and regulations of the country,” the minister said.

    Prasad also said his government is committed to the freedom of media and rights of individuals but is also equally concerned about the safety and security of India.

    “Our commitment for freedom of media, right of individuals and independence of the judiciary in complete and total.

    But we are equally concerned about the safety and security of India,” he said.

    On the protection of privacy of the individuals of the country on social media, he said the government is working on new guidelines.

    Gaps will be addressed when new guidelines will come, he said.

    “Work is in progress. ” The minister said he wants to convey to media platforms that freedom is important but they cannot abuse it by showing unbidden revenge sex videos, porn, street violence and videos that ignite passions and fuel violence.

    The social media platforms need to access unbidden exposure to such content against their own internal guidelines, he said.

    BJP member Vinay Sahasrabuddhe wanted to know whether the microblogging and social media companies could be covered under the laws of the Press Council of India and FDI laws would be applicable to them.

    According to Sahasrabuddhe, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information technology has already recommended this.

    Prasad replied saying “I am aware of the recommendations of that standing committee.

    I along with (Prakash) Javadedkar (Minister of Information & Broadcasting) are revisiting the guidelines.

    When it takes final shape, we would inform the House.

  • Amid full-blown freedom of speech spat with Twitter, govt begins Koo-ing

    Express News Service
    BENGALURU: Caught in the eye of a political storm over the ongoing farmer protests, US social media giant Twitter on Wednesday said it had suspended more than 500 of the 1,178 accounts the ministry of electronics and information technology ordered it to remove citing the possibility of inciting violence and threat to national security.

    However, the site took a dig at the government saying the others were not suspended as the blocking orders were not consistent with Indian law. “Keeping with our principles of defending protected speech and freedom of expression, we have not taken any action on accounts that consist of news media entities, journalists, activists, and politicians. To do so, we believe, would violate their fundamental right to free expression under Indian law,” Twitter said.

    The ministry termed Twitter’s statement as ‘unusual’, posting its response first on a rival platform, Koo, which garnered more than three million downloads in two days.“Upon the request of Twitter seeking a meeting with the government, the Secretary IT was to engage with senior management of Twitter. In this light a blog post published prior to this engagement is unusual. The government will share its response soon,” Meity said in a statement.

    The Centre had last week warned Twitter of legal action under Section 69(A) of the Information Technology Act, which provides for imprisonment up to seven years besides a penalty, if it fails to take down the 1,178 accounts.Legal experts told TNIE that Twitter may have very few options since it has only partly complied with the government orders, while free speech activists denounced the government’s crackdown on social media by using ‘legal weapons’.

    India remains a key market for the social media giant with more than 75 million active users, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has a 65.5 million strong user base with his key cabinet colleagues as well as government departments active on the site.Industries and Commerce minister Piyush Goyal, IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra and Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut were amongst those who shifted to the ‘desi’ rival Koo, which also onboarded key government departments on Wednesday.

    Fully Indian firmAprameya R, the co-founder and CEO of Koo, said it is an India registered firm backed by investors like 3one4 capital. A Chinese investor, Shunwei, is also a shareholder, but will exit fully.

  • Twitter will be a nicer place if move to Koo picks up pace: Former Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah

    By PTI
    SRINAGAR: Twitter would be a nicer place if the shift of its users to Indian micro-blogging site ‘Koo’ gathers pace, National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah said on Wednesday, in a backhanded compliment to the 10-month-old app.

    The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister’s remarks came after several Twitter users and government departments announced joining the ‘desi’ platform.

    “Twitter will be a much nicer place if the move to Koo picks up pace,” Abdullah wrote on Twitter.