Days after the Ministry of Home Affairs let out the order to keep all the computers under surveillance, the Indian Government has now started taking public comments on the same to amend the IT rules.
The amendment of IT rules is to take place with an aim to cut down the flow of fake and derogatory news in India, mainly via social media sites such as Facebook and WhatsApp.
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has asked the stakeholders to provide their comments on the same by January 15, 2019, to amend the IT rules under Section 79 of the IT Act.
Commenting on the recent order, the Opposition said that the government is ‘violating’ the privacy of the people of India and turning the country into a ‘nanny state’. Additionally, it was said that if the order is passed, India will become a country “reminiscent of eerie dictatorships”.
It is further suggested that the recent order to keep all the computers under monitoring is to keep an eye on fake news which tends to spread rapidly in India.
Furthermore, MeitY had asked for consultations from various social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Google, and Yahoo, along with industry associations such as Internet and Mobile Association of India, Cellular Operators Association of India and The Internet Service Providers Association of India representing intermediaries.
However, responses from social media sites are yet to be received.
While we need a serious tool to fight fake news, intruding the privacy of users seems inappropriate. What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments section below.
