An Indian parliamentary panel has recommended treating social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook as publishers and setting up a regulator to oversee them, potentially opening companies up to multiple responsibilities. than for user-generated content.
The High Committee made those recommendations when considering a personal data protection bill introduced in 2019 that seeks to protect user privacy and enforce stringent controls over the privacy of users. with the way companies like Alphabet Google and Amazon. collect, process and store data.
The panel is asking for stricter regulations because the current law that treats these social media platforms as intermediaries has not done enough in terms of regulation, two people not authorized to speak to the media said. . In addition, they said the existing provisions in the personal data protection bill are too broad.
Residents said the commission had recommended that a regulator be established along the lines of the Press Council of India to regulate content. They said a mechanism could be created to hold social media platforms accountable for content coming from unverified accounts.
PP Chaudhary, a lawmaker from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party who heads the council, said the report’s recommendations will be presented to parliament when it begins session on Nov. 29. discuss the content of the report.
If these recommendations are included in the revised bill and passed in parliament, it could have far-reaching effects on the performance of public and private companies in the largest social media market in the world. Global. Violations under this bill could be punished with fines of up to 4% of the annual global revenue of social media companies, similar to penalties in the European Union.
Such moves echo similar sentiments outside of India. Lawmakers from Washington to Brussels have contemplated action to take hold of social media companies like Facebook and Google are responsible for the massive amount of content generated daily on their platforms, a view that has gained momentum during the pandemic.
In India, these companies have so far enjoyed “safe harbor” status and cannot be held responsible for user-generated content on their platforms as long as they follow the Intermediary Guidelines established by the Government. issued earlier this year. This has included setting up an office in India, appointing compliance officials and complying with government requests to take down certain types of content it deems harmful.
Google declined to comment on the panel’s recommendations. Twitter and By Meta Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Data Protection
India’s massive rush to smartphone use has led to an explosion of personal and sensitive information. However, laws protecting user privacy have not gone the same way, raising concerns among activists and citizen groups about the potential for abuse.
Prime Minister died two years Narendra Modi’s The government introduced data protection legislation after the Supreme Court ruled that privacy is a fundamental right of individuals. The congressional committee missed multiple deadlines to complete its report as lawmakers were divided over several provisions of the bill. On Monday, the panel completed its report.
Lawmakers on the panel support expanding the bill’s scope to non-personal data, the people said. It is also recommended that it takes about 24 months to implement the provisions of the act so that data-related companies can make the necessary changes to their policies, infrastructure and processes. .
The panel also kept a provision that would allow the government to exempt its agencies from parts of the law, although some lawmakers have expressed reservations about this.
– With the support of Abhijit Roy Chowdhury and Saritha Rai.
© 2021 Bloomberg LP
