Communications and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has been within the thick of motion, engaged on new guidelines on social and digital media in addition to OTT platforms, tackling the problem posed by Chinese language apps and the safety considerations round telecom gear. His ministry has additionally been the spearhead for an effort to wean producers of smartphones away from China. In an interview to TOI, he outlines the government’s technique in these essential areas. Excerpts:
Do you assume that new tips will assist the federal government?
The problem will not be of use of social media, the problem is of abuse and misuse of social media. The rules concentrate on the consumer of social media. Do I’ve a discussion board for decision of grievances or not? It’s between the platform and customers, you will need to have a grievance redressal officer, compliance officer, reporting officer. We, the federal government, are out of it — the federal government welcomes dissent, it welcomes criticism, together with of the Prime Minister, ministers and authorities insurance policies. Our authorities additionally appreciates the function of social media in empowering residents.
However, we’ve to guard the rights of customers and so we’ve imposed 4 obligations on them. First, month-to-month reporting of decision of grievances. Second, in case of “vital” platforms, a mechanism for voluntary verification of customers. Third, elimination of content material inside 24 hours, which impinge on nationwide safety, have morphed photos of girls, revenge porn being proven by jilted lover, and so forth. Final, if there is a matter regarding nationwide safety, sovereignty of India, projection of rape sufferer or defaming of girls, and in another outlined classes, then you’ll have to disclose khurafaat kisne shuru ki (who began the mischief). We don’t want to see the content material. I’ve to be upholder of the liberty of a person, however I additionally need to be involved in regards to the dignity of India’s ladies.
At some degree, have been a few of the corporations additionally turning into activists?
I don’t want to touch upon that. What we’re asking is uniformity of yardstick. You assist the police motion in case of violence on the Capitol Hill within the US. We admire that. However in relation to our pleasure, Purple Fort, you’ve got double requirements, you stand with the aggressors. This double customary is solely unacceptable. You need to admire India’s democracy and which means India’s Structure and the legal guidelines of India.
Some folks consider that the federal government has develop into too delicate. Is there a line that you just draw once you say the federal government is open to criticism?
During the last 20 years, my PM has been the largest sufferer of constant marketing campaign towards him, based mostly on falsehood. The place do you draw a line? Ought to social media be allowed to develop into a platform to pander to terrorists or those that are attempting to interrupt the nation, those that don’t respect the decision of democracy? There’s a tendency of those that have repeatedly been rebuffed within the in style mandate to additional their political goals from the corridors of the Supreme Court and a few via social media. It’s not honest.
WhatsApp has mentioned that they’re unable to interrupt the encryption and isn’t sharing the unique supply of illegal message…
Know-how is altering so quick. Are we speaking of rocket science? Furthermore, I’m not looking for to know the content material, I solely wish to know the originator in case a submit has develop into viral and is inflicting hassle.
Grounds on which you search motion from social media corporations, resembling nationwide safety and public order, are seen by many individuals as being too broad. Do you agree?
They’re a part of Article 19(2) of the Structure. The Supreme Court docket has mentioned that web is integral to the precise to free speech as offered in Article 19(1), due to this fact 19(2), with affordable restrictions. They’ve been in place for over 70 years and there are a number of judgments on sovereignty and integrity of India. We now have solely added dignity of girls to it as a result of it has develop into a problem within the age of social media. And no, we aren’t saying one thing imprecise. We respect folks’s proper to speech, however they will’t be oblivious to Article 19(2), which talks of affordable restrictions.
Don’t we threat turning right into a police state on social media since one fallacious hashtag can result in stoppage of all the pieces?
No, it’s not true. We solely search to cease a hashtag if it’s inflicting hassle, and to not convey down an account. These propagating towards India, via fictitious accounts and hashtags, should pay for it as a result of we can’t ignore any menace to India’s safety from terrorists.
What’s the want to manage OTT platforms?
There’s a censor board for movies however there’s none for OTT platforms. All we’re asking for is self-certification and self-regulation. When you’ve got a self-regulatory mechanism for TV information, you run a scroll if there’s something fallacious. Doesn’t The Occasions of India comply with the Press Council of India tips? Doesn’t Occasions Now comply with self-regulation tips. So, how will you (the OTTs) be utterly unbridled? For information media, all you must do is to tell the I&B ministry. Day by day, you’ve got a brand new channel arising on YouTube. Our solely expectation is that it’s good to inform who you’re and the place a channel is positioned. The federal government will solely have a soft-touch oversight mechanism in relation to social media platforms in addition to digital media and OTT platforms.
What’s the authorities’s view on telecom community growth and procurement from Chinese language corporations?
I don’t wish to touch upon any particular nation. Our core concern is to have a sturdy, secure and safe Indian communication system. If
has to succeed, it has to stay secure and safe.
The federal government has mentioned that telecom gear can solely come from ‘trusted’ sources which have been permitted by a delegated authority. Are you able to elaborate?
The record of ‘trusted’ sources ought to are available in June. We’re going to look into a wide range of components that would come with checking the antecedents of the provider, to discovering out trustworthiness of the organisation. Additionally, we wish to perceive the provider’s capability to make sure cyber safety. So far as the Chinese language gamers are involved, when their apps posed an issue, we exercised sovereign powers to maintain them away. All I can say is that enable the system to work correctly. All components of belief will probably be factored in.
/* Person Identification Code Begin */
attempt {
var _tiluuid = localStorage.getItem(‘_tiluuid’);
if (_tiluuid === null) {
perform receiveMessage(evt) {
if (evt.origin === ‘https://tilanalytics.timesinternet.in’) {
_tiluuid = evt.information;
localStorage.setItem(‘_tiluuid’, _tiluuid);
}
}
window.addEventListener(‘message’, receiveMessage, false);
if(doc.getElementById(“_tiluuid_frame”)) {
doc.getElementById(“_tiluuid_frame”).src=”https://tilanalytics.timesinternet.in/frame_v3.min.html”;
}
}
} catch (e) {}
/* Person Identification Code Finish */
var urlParams = window.URLSearchParams && new URLSearchParams(window.location.search),
optParam = urlParams.get && urlParams.get(‘choose’);
var objSec = {template: ‘articleshow_main’, msid:’81478741′, secNames: [‘tech’,’tech-internet’],secIds:[‘2147477890′,’13357270′,’78570561’]};
var tmplName = tpName=”articleshow_main”,lang = ”,nav_sec1,newHookId,subsec1_value,subsec1_common = ‘13357270’,newHookId2,subsec2_value,subsec2_common = ‘78570561’;
var objVc = {version_on:’20210313094238′,js_etsubscription:’1′,js_onboarding_popup_sh:’7′,js_comments:’111′,js_googleslock:’782′,js_googlelogin:’56’,js_common_buydirect:’749′,js_bookmark:’18’,js_articleshow_main:’48’,js_login:’50’,js_datepicker:’2′,js_electionsmn:’22’,js_push:’54’,css_buydirect:’14’,js_tradenow:’19’,js_commonall:’138′,lib_login:’https://jssocdn.indiatimes.com/crosswalk/jsso_crosswalk_legacy_0.5.9.min.js’,live_tv:'{“onoff_flag”:”0″,”platform”:”desktop”,”sections”:[“1977021501″,”1715249553″,”13352306″,”5575607″,”837555174″,”359241701″,”13357270″,”107115″,”897228639″,”7771250″,”1466318837″],”pages”:”all”,”auto_open”:”1″,”default_tv”:”1″,”timePeriod”:{“showTimeFlag”:false,”fromTime”:””,”toTime”:””}}’,global_cube:’0′,global_cube_wap:’0′,global_cube_faces:’2′,global_cube_fullad:’0′,global_cube_landingon:’sensex’,global_cube_wap_url:’https://m.economictimes.com/iframe_cube.cms’,site_sync:’0′,adx:’1′,amazon_bidding:’0′,js_newsltrpopup:’120′,nlExpiry:’864000′,nlReloadExpiry:’30’,fan_ads:’0′,plan_on_paywall:’0′,planEntryPointCache:’1′,trackAdCode:’0′,ajaxError:’1′,oauth:’oauth’,planPage:”https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/plans.cms”,planPageTest:’https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/plans.cms’,subscriptions:’subscriptions’,krypton:’kryptonp’,apw:’apw’,nlSubscribe:’etsub3′};
if(window.location.host == ‘economictimes-pp.indiatimes.com’) {
objVc.oauth=”oauth-pp”;
objVc.krypton = ‘krypton-pp’;
objVc.subscriptions=”subscriptions-pp”;
objVc.apw = ‘apw-pp’;
}
var objDim = {d52:’nature_of_content’,d96:’continuous_paywall_hits’,d95:’monthly_article_count’,d10:’user_login_status_hit’,d54:’content_shelf_life’,d98:’daily_paid_article_count’,d53:’content_target_audience’,d97:’monthly_paid_article_count’,d12:’tags_meta_keyword’,d56:’degree_of_conten’,d11:’content_theme_the_primary_tag’,d55:’content_tone’,d14:’special_coverage’,d58:’et_product_item’,d13:’article_publish_time’,d16:’video_embed’,d15:’audio_embed’,d59:’show_paywall_final’,d61:’paywall_probability’,d60:’paywall_score’,d63:’paid_articles_read’,d62:’eligibility_paywall_rule’,d65:’bureau_articles_read’,d20:’platform’,d64:’free_articles_read’,d23:’author_id’,d67:’loyalty’,d66:’article_length’,d25:’page_template’,d24:’syft_initiate_page’,d68:’paywall_hits’,d27:’site_sub_section’,d26:’site_section’,d29:’section_id’,d28:’prime_deal_code’,d70:’us_election_2020′,d72:’paywall_experiment’,d71:’plan_group_id’,d32:’prime_article_read_before_syft’,d75:’watchlist_active_status’,d34:’content_age’,d33:’prime_article_read_before_success’,d36:’sign_in_initiation_position’,d35:’subscription_method_hit’,d37:’user_subscription_status’,d1:’et_product’,d2:’blocker_type’,d3:’user_login_status_hit’,d4:’company’,d5:’author_name’,d6:’cms_content_publishing_type’,d7:’content_personalisation_level’,d8:’article_publish_date’,d9:’sub_section_name’,d40:’freeread’,d45:’prime_hp_ui_template’,d47:’prime_hp_ui_content_b_color’,d46:’prime_hp_ui_content_size’,d49:’syft_initiate_position’,d48:’content_msid’,d92:’last_click_source’,d50:’signin_initiate_page’,d94:’daily_article_count’,d93:’internal_source’};var serverTime=”03.13.2021 09:45:45″;var WRInitTime=(new Date()).getTime();
(perform () {if (self !== prime) {var e = perform (s) {return doc.getElementsByTagName(s)}; e(“head”)[0].innerHTML = ‘*{show:none;}’; setTimeout(perform () {e(“physique”)[0].innerHTML = ”; var hEle = e(“html”)[0]; hEle.innerHTML = ‘economictimes.indiatimes.com‘; hEle.className=””; prime.location = self.location; }, 0);}})();
_log = window.console && console.log ? console.log : perform () {};
// Creating Parts for IE : HTML 5 and cross area checks
(perform () { var elem = [“article”, “aside”, “figure”, “footer”, “figcaption”, “header”, “nav”, “section”, “time”];
for(var i=0; i -1) { window[disableStr + ‘-‘ + gaProperty] = true; }
ga(‘set’, ‘anonymizeIp’, true);
ga(‘create’, gaProperty, ‘auto’, {‘allowLinker’: true});
ga(‘require’, ‘linker’);
ga(‘linker:autoLink’, [‘economictimes.com’]);
ga(‘require’, ‘displayfeatures’);
window.optimizely = window.optimizely || [];
window.optimizely.push(“activateUniversalAnalytics”);
ga(‘require’, ‘GTM-WV452H7’);
customDimension.dimension1 = “ET Free”;
customDimension.dimension4 = “TNN”;
customDimension.dimension5 = “Pankaj Doval,Sidhartha”;
customDimension.dimension6 = “Native – 81478741”;
customDimension.dimension8 = “Mar 13, 2021”;
customDimension.dimension9 = “Tech & Web”;
customDimension.dimension12 = “IT guidelines,I&B ministry,Supreme Court docket,Authorities,Digital India,Ravi Shankar Prasad,Interviews”;
customDimension.dimension13 = “09:28 AM IST”;
customDimension.dimension15 = “No”;
customDimension.dimension16 = “No”;
customDimension.dimension23 = “19994,19875”;
(perform () {
var a = window.localStorage && localStorage.getItem(‘et_syftCounter’) || ”;
a = a && JSON.parse(a) || {};
if(a.beforeSyft && customDimension) {
customDimension.dimension32 = a.beforeSyft;
}
if(a.afterSyft) {
customDimension.dimension33 = a.afterSyft;
}
})()
var contentAge=”0.0021527777777777778″;
if(contentAge) {
customDimension.dimension34 = contentAge > 2 ? ‘>48hs’:’= 0 && num -1 && grx_userPermission.indexOf(“cancelled_subscription”) > -1 && grx_userPermission.indexOf(“can_buy_subscription”) > -1) {
subsStatus=”Paid Person – In Trial”;
} else if(grx_userPermission.indexOf(“subscribed”) > -1) {
subsStatus=”Paid Person”;
b.classList.add(“prime_user”);
} else if(grx_userPermission.indexOf(“etadfree_subscribed”) > -1) {
subsStatus=”Advert Free Person”;
}
} catch (e) {}
} else {
grxDimension[objDim[‘d3’]] = ‘NONLOGGEDIN’;
}
if(subsStatus == ‘Free Person’ || subsStatus == ‘Expired Person’) {
b.classList.add(“free_user”);
}
grxDimension[objDim[‘d37’]] = subsStatus;
attempt {
if(window.localStorage && localStorage.getItem) {
var jString = localStorage.getItem(“jStorage”);
if(jString) {
var objJstorage = JSON.parse(jString), objProf = objJstorage[‘et_subscription_profile’];
for (var attrname in objProf) { grxDimension[attrname] = objProf[attrname]; }
}
}
}catch(e) {
console.log(‘Error profile Dimension’);
}
})()
grx(‘observe’, ‘page_view’, grxDimension);
if(window.allowGdpr == 1 && (typeof skip == ‘undefined’ || typeof skip.fbevents == ‘undefined’)) {
!perform(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)
{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=perform(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};
if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.model=’2.0′;
n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, doc,’script’,
‘https://join.facebook.web/en_US/fbevents.js’);
fbq(‘init’, ‘338698809636220’);
fbq(‘observe’, ‘PageView’);
}
var _comscore = _comscore || [];
_comscore.push({ c1: “2”, c2: “6036484”});
if(window.allowGdpr == 1) {
(perform() {
var s = doc.createElement(‘script’), el = doc.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0]; s.async = true;
s.src = (doc.location.protocol == “https:” ? “https://sb” : “http://b”) + “.scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js”;
el.parentNode.insertBefore(s, el);
})();
}
if(window.allowGdpr == 1) {
(perform() {
perform pingIbeat() ”;
e.setAttribute(‘src’, sd + ‘/js_ibeat_ext.cms?v=’ + dt);
//e.setAttribute(‘src’, “https://agi-static.indiatimes.com/cms-common/ibeat.min.js”);
doc.head.appendChild(e);
if(typeof window.addEventListener == ‘perform’) {
window.addEventListener(“load”, pingIbeat, false);
} else {
var oldonload = window.onload;
window.onload = (typeof window.onload != ‘perform’) ?
pingIbeat : perform() { oldonload(); pingIbeat(); };
}
})();
}
}
