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Facebook, Twitter in favour of self-regulatory body in India; Google opposes it

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Vivek Mishra
Vivek MishraAug 12, 2022 | 10:35

Facebook, Twitter in favour of self-regulatory body in India; Google opposes it

Facebook and Twitter backed proposal for self-regulatory body in India has been opposed by Google. (Photo: Reuters)

Big tech companies like Facebook, Google and Amazon had last month signed a code of practice to self-regulate and to reduce harmful online content in New Zealand.

On the same line, Facebook and Twitter have supported the Indian government's idea of a self-regulatory body in India, but, according to a Reuters report, Google has opposed it

In June, the Indian government had proposed to appoint a panel to hear complaints about content moderation decisions on social media platforms.

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What had the Indian government proposed? The Indian government had proposed to set up a grievance appellate committee to look into appeals filed by individuals against decisions on social media platforms. During the same time, the government had also said that it is open to the idea of a self-regulatory body if the industry is willing.

The self-regulatory body proposal: An initial draft of the proposal for the self-regulatory body said the panel would have a retired judge or an experienced person from the field of technology as chairperson, as well as six other individuals, including some senior executives at social media companies. The panel's decisions would be "binding in nature", stated the draft, which was seen by Reuters.

Why are Facebook and Twitter okay with a self-regulatory body? Companies like Facebook and Twitter know that a lack of consensus among the tech giants would mean a government panel being formed and they fear that strict regulations would hurt their business and investment plans. Since the implementation of the IT rules in May last year, social media platforms like Facebook have been coming out with monthly compliance reports.

Why is Google opposing it? After a meeting involving the government and the companies, Google expressed disinterest in the self-regulatory body as it implied external reviews of decisions that could force Google to reinstate content, even if it violated Google's internal policies, reported Reuters.

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Rules for social media companies in India: The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 came into effect last year.

It mandated social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to enable identification of the 'first originator' of the information that undermines the sovereignty of India, the security of the state, or public order, reported PTI.

In its compliance report for April, messaging app WhatsApp had said that it had banned over 16 lakh accounts of Indian users in April to prevent harmful activities on the platform.

Data protection bill: A data protection and privacy bill, which was first proposed in 2019, was withdrawn by the Indian government on August 3. IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw moved the withdrawal of the Personal Data Protection Bill in Lok Sabha on Wednesday after a joint parliamentary committee suggested 81 amendments to it.

Last updated: August 12, 2022 | 10:35
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