In order to curb objectionable content, the Indian Government is ordering top internet companies such as Facebook, Google, YouTube, Yahoo, Microsoft, Twitter and WhatsApp to crack down on objectionable content, according to top sources in the govt.
The govt has asked social giants to be proactive regarding child pornography, rape and gang-rape being widely shared on the internet, failing to this would amount to “serious action”.
“Companies are currently following a ‘reporting’ system, where the action is taken after it has been reported and thereafter verified to be true. The government is not happy with this approach as it is more reactive, and not proactive,” a source was quoted by TOI.
Among the various measures that have been agreed upon by a high-level committee, that included senior officials from the IT and Home Ministries and representatives from Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Microsoft and WhatsApp, it has been decided to expand the list of ‘key words’ related to child pornography.
Apex Court order to govt
This is after the SC in October expressed concern on such content following a petition filed by Hyderabad based Prajwala, an anti-trafficking NGO.
SC has asked for the creation of a central reporting mechanism which will also allow the CBI to receive information about rape videos and child sexual abuse material online.
Citizens can flag and report content anonymously. It also asked government organisations to put together a list of keywords that are used by people to search for these materials.
It also raised questions about the accountability of social media companies.
The government will submit a status report on the same on December 11.
