Tag: social media

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India News Social Media

‘New rules needed for fine balance between rights, laws’

Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal said the issue of traceability of electronic records being raised has to be seen in a holistic perspective…reports Sumit Saxena

With WhatsApp filing a lawsuit in the Delhi High Court stating that requiring messaging apps to “trace” chats undermines people’s right to privacy, even as the deadline to comply with the new IT (intermediary) rules, 2021, for big social media platforms in India ended on Tuesday, legal experts say the new measures should not be seen as a “blanket web” for getting information of all originators of all messages sent by all users.

Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal said the issue of traceability of electronic records being raised has to be seen in a holistic perspective.

“The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 are not creating a mother blanket web for getting information of all originators of all messages sent by all users. On the contrary, it is only specifically looking at specified cases where in certain specified circumstances, some information pertaining to identification of origin of all electronic records can be obtained,” he said.

Advocate Khushbu Jain, founder Ark Legal, said there has been persistent spread of fake news, and rampant abuse of social media to share morphed images of women and contents related to revenge porn have often threatened the dignity of women.

social media

“Privacy is good faith principle – not to be applied to criminals. Right to privacy cannot be an impediment to fair investigation – the world over. WhatsApp cannot maintain double standards: Taking stand of privacy infringement is itself contradictory to their own provision mentioned in their own privacy policy. The new rules establishes the required fine balance between the rights of individuals, mediated by these supranational business interests, and simultaneously preventing state overreach, while preserving incentives for innovation, which is the real-life blood of the Internet,” Jain added.

In July 2019, V. Kamakoti, a professor at IIT Madras, had told the Madras High Court that it is technically possible to add an original identification tag to messages on WhatsApp even with encryption. He added that there is a possibility, if WhatsApp were to introduce a change in its product design, which could include the phone number of the originator whenever a message is forwarded. He further added that being a privacy-entity of WhatsApp does not carry much weight, when users are able to freely forward messages to anyone without consent.

According to Supreme Court advocate Virag Gupta, this matter of first originator of a message, is already under consideration before Supreme Court, where WhatsApp is a party. He added that on request of social media companies, the top court, in its order on January 30, 2020, directed for transfer of the Madras High Court matter and other similar proceedings to itself.

Is it possible to develop a healthy relationship with Social Media? (Photo: pixabay)

“A new challenge to Rule 4(2) before the Delhi High Court may be delaying tactics to avoid the compliance with other aspects of IT rules, which talk about appointment of grievance and other officers in India. Despite judicial challenge to limited aspect of rules, WhatsApp and other significant social media companies are duty bound to comply with new IT Rules within stipulated time period,” said Gupta.

However, Tanmay Singh, associate litigation counsel at the Internet Freedom Foundation, said: “Enabling a traceability option by any means, even if it is not by directly breaking end-to-end encryption, will seriously undermine the very purpose of end-to-end encryption, which is to promote and strengthen user privacy and encourage the freedom of speech. This will threaten the constitutional fundamental rights of millions of users of social media in India.”

ALSO READ: WhatsApp sues govt over chat traceability

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-Top News EU News Social Media

Europe tightens grip on social media

social media

The Code of Practice on Disinformation is the first of its kind worldwide and should be strengthened to become a more effective tool for countering disinformation, said the commission…reports Asian Lite News

The European Commission on Wednesday published new guidelines to hold Facebook, Google, Twitter and other social media platforms accountable for disinformation shared on their respective platforms.

The Code of Practice on Disinformation is the first of its kind worldwide and should be strengthened to become a more effective tool for countering disinformation, the commission said in a statement.

The commission said that based on a robust monitoring framework and clear performance indicators, signatories should reduce financial incentives to disinformation, empower users to take an active role in preventing its spread, better cooperate with fact-checkers across EU Member States and languages, and provide a framework for access to data for researchers.

Věra Jourová (Twitter)

“Threats posed by disinformation online are fast evolving and we need to step up our collective action to empower citizens and protect the democratic information space,” said Vera Jourova, Vice President for Values and Transparency.

ALSO READ: Facebook urged to scrap ‘Insta for kids’

“A new stronger Code is necessary as we need online platforms and other players to address the systemic risks of their services and algorithmic amplification, stop policing themselves alone and stop allowing to make money on disinformation, while fully preserving the freedom of speech.”

The Commission will call upon the signatories of the Code of Practice to convene and strengthen the Code in line with the Guidance.

“Platforms and players in the online advertising ecosystem must take responsibility and better work together to defund disinformation, notably by exchanging information on disinformation ads refused by one of the signatories, improving transparency and accountability around ad placements and barring participation by actors that systematically post debunked content,” it said.

Twitter said that it looks forward to continuing to work with the European Commission, civil society, and the public, “to offer meaningful transparency and choice, and to tackle the ever changing landscape of disinformation”.

“We need to rein in the infodemic and the diffusion of false information putting people’s life in danger. Disinformation cannot remain a source of revenue,” said Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market.

The strengthened code should also enhance the visibility of reliable information of public interest, and warn users who interacted with content marked as false by fact-checkers.

ALSO READ: Twitter, Facebook likely to be blocked in India

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-Top News India News Social Media

Twitter, Facebook likely to be blocked in India

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Sources said the failure of social media companies to make these appointments in three months has not gone down well with the government..reports Aarti Tikoo Singh

The deadline to comply with the new legal rules meant for big social media platforms, which were issued by the government three months ago, is ending on Tuesday, threatening the operations of the likes of Twitter in India.

According to top official sources, social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and others, which were required to abide by the rules notified in the gazette of India on February 25 under Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Rules, 2021, have failed to comply on many accounts till date.

The government’s rules will come into effect from May 26.

“If social media companies do not obey the rules, they may lose their status and protections as intermediaries and may become liable for criminal action as per the existing laws of India,” top official sources said.

Except one Indian social media company, Koo, sources said that none of the top social media intermediaries have appointed a resident grievance officer, a chief compliance officer and a nodal contact person yet.

Sources said the failure of social media companies to make these appointments in three months has not gone down well with the government.

ALSO READ: Trump blasts Facebook for continued ban

With arbitrary suspensions of accounts and inaction over abuses and bigotry on social media platforms, users in India have been persistently complaining against tech giants like Twitter, Facebook and others.

In the latest alleged Congress toolkit controversy, Delhi Police visited Twitter India’s local offices in the National Capital Region on Monday after Twitter had marked one of the tweets of BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra as “manipulated media”.

Twitter’s presumptive judgement has triggered widespread outrage among Indian users across the country.

Sources said the social media platforms which were required to furnish monthly reports as to how many grievances were filed and settled, have failed to do so. Some of the platforms, sources said, have sought more time of up to six months for furnishing compliance.

For some platforms, sources said, the standard reply has been that they will await instructions from their company headquarters in the US, who in turn on their own will have an “expert assessment” to take a view.

The US-based social media platforms have grown huge, thanks to their massive user base and profitable revenues in democracies like India. However, none of the platforms have shown any inclination to comply with India’s domestic laws. Instead, social media platforms have refused to be transparent about their fact-checking mechanism and their criteria to label tweets.

ALSO READ: Facebook urged to scrap ‘Insta for kids’

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-Top News China Social Media

How China exploits social media to amplify its propaganda?

Oxford researchers examined every tweet and Facebook post produced by Chinese diplomats and ten of the largest state-controlled media outlets between June 2020 and February 2021, reports Rahul Kumar

China is using social media giants like Twitter and Facebook to broadcast State propaganda to global audiences, which is further amplified by fake Twitter accounts. This was revealed by the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) in a seven-month-long investigation of social media accounts held by Chinese State-run media and Chinese diplomats.

A global audit by the OII and the Associated Press says that Chinese diplomats and State media outlets are highly active on Twitter and Facebook but only 14 per cent of diplomat accounts on Twitter are labelled as State-run media by the micro-blogging site.

Marcel Schliebs, doctoral candidate and lead author of the paper at the OII, University of Oxford, said: “We find that the PRC (People’s Republic of China) is increasingly seeking to use its diplomats to amplify the outward-facing propaganda dissemination of state-backed media outlets. Our analysis shows PRC diplomats are represented in at least 126 countries with active Twitter or Facebook accounts.”

The Chinese government is exploiting those very social media networks to influence foreign public opinion which it has banned for its own public. The study points out that “nearly half of all PRC diplomat retweets are from the 1% of most active amplifiers.”

For their study, the Oxford researchers examined every tweet and Facebook post produced by Chinese diplomats and ten of the largest state-controlled media outlets between June 2020 and February 2021.

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Chinese diplomats and State-backed media accounts have been highly active on Twitter. Between June 2020 and February 2021, 189 diplomatic accounts tweeted 201,382 times and got nearly seven million likes, 1.3 million retweets and attracted a million comments. Interestingly, a large number of these retweets came from accounts that Twitter had suspended for violating its rules.

The researchers also found that despite the Twitter and Facebook policy of labelling official accounts to enhance transparency and accountability, only one in eight (14 per cent) of Chinese diplomatic accounts on Twitter were labelled clearly as government accounts.

Quoting another similar research, The Epoch Times says that two Twitter accounts — those belonging to Liu Xiaoming, the former Chinese ambassador to the UK, and the Chinese Embassy in London, were scrutinised carefully. This research found that from June 2020 to January 2021, a coordinated network of 62 accounts was dedicated to amplifying messages from the two accounts.

Of the 62 accounts, 60 were eventually suspended by Twitter, with 29 of them for the reason of platform manipulation. The remaining two were deleted by their own users. The researchers say that these 62 accounts seemed to generate little interest from genuine users, but may have contributed to the amplification of official Chinese content “by manipulating platform algorithms”, says The Epoch Times.

The research says that the Chinese government has an overwhelming presence on social media networks. The researchers found 176 Twitter and Facebook accounts representing Chinese State-controlled media outlets in English and other languages. These accounts posted over 700,000 times, with posts receiving a mammoth 355 million likes with over 27 million comments and re-shares.

However, nearly half of all Chinese official accounts are retweeted by the top 1 per cent most active accounts. These highly active accounts engage with PRC diplomats at a very high rate, often retweeting them thousands of times within just a few months.

Talking about the significance of the research, Professor Philip N. Howard, Senior Author of the study said: “By uncovering the scale and reach of the PRC’s public diplomacy campaign, we can better understand how policy makers and social media firms should react to an increasingly assertive PRC propaganda strategy.”

(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)

ALSO READ: US, China engaging in N-arms race

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Interview Social Media

‘Curly Tales’ of food and travel

The pandemic allowed me to relook at my business. Even though Curly Tales is in the travel space, travel can never be replaced with an online experience… Kamiya Jani speaks with Puja Gupta.

Becoming a blogger is a common thing in modern times. Her videos often pop up on our Facebook feeds and give major travel goals. Mother of one, Kamiya Jani quit her full-time job as an anchor to follow her passion for travelling and exploring the world.

What started as a personal blog ‘Curly Tales’, is one of the most popular online platform that shares recommendations for food and travel.

In a conversation with us, Jani talks about her journey, her venture, apart from her views on the present scenario of the travel industry. Excerpts:

When did you begin your journey as a content curator, and how has your journey been till now?

Even though I started this journey by writing blogs and articles, I realised that not too many platforms were making videos around this. That is when I forayed into videos, which were very well received by everyone who watched them. The journey has been full of excitement, starting with just me and my passion for food and travel. I now have an amazing team of 25-30 people.

What started as a food and travel platform where I would make 1-minute videos on topics of interest — from street food, unique servings in restaurants, we have surely come a long way. We are now well placed to host celebrity interviews, wherein I invite renowned personalities for a brunch. They then discuss their journey, their passion for travel, and their food experience, through a very candid and free-flowing conversation. This concept became pretty unique, and was well received by the audiences.

What was your inspiration to start your journey in this field?

I was working as a business news anchor at a renowned business news channel, and I had been a journalist for the past 10 years, before Curly Tales. Although I enjoyed that stint entirely, I used to feel pretty confined in the space. While on the job, I strongly felt that I wanted to enjoy myself exploring the world.

When I switched, I was already a mom of a three-year-old daughter. I wanted to pursue my dreams with a simple thought — if not now, then when. I wanted to follow my passion for travelling on a personal level. Initially, I just started documenting my experiences and publishing on Facebook, where I found a community of like-minded people that could relate to my content. Additionally, a lot of women started looking up to me, by telling me that despite being married and a mother I still pursued my passion. This only gave me more motivation and drive to continue my journey, document it and publish it, and engage the community with my recommendations and their suggestions.

The whole journey from content has taken a shift to commerce. We are not just recommending but also selling some of these experiences now. Recently, we experienced a staycation package for a five-star hotel, and over 500 people bought that experience through Curly Tales on Facebook after watching our video on it. In all, our journey started from a passion, moved to content creation, to curation and it is now in the stage of commerce, where the transactions are happening based on recommendations through Facebook.

Given that you are also a part of Facebook’s ongoing ‘More Together’ campaign which focuses on the power of connections, how do you relate to it?

The power of connections is all about working together. The connection has been with my team who has helped me build the foundation of Curly Tales and the connection with the followers, who have been following us since we started with 300-400 followers. Moreover, some of those followers have now turned into our clients. I feel all this personifies the power of connections– something that has happened through Facebook. This has brought me even closer to the essence of Facebook’s More Together campaign.

The pandemic-induced disruption in the travel space forced people and travelers to become homebound. How did you cope up with the situation?

The pandemic allowed me to relook at my business. Even though Curly Tales is in the travel space, travel can never be replaced with an online experience. We did some virtual tours but the joy of travelling outdoors can never be replaced by anything else. We were positive that we will be back. The pandemic also allowed us to relook at our content strategy and position ourselves the way we wanted to. During the pandemic, we got an opportunity to focus on written content, and use instant articles on Facebook as travelling guides for people who needed to be reunited with their families. Through this process, we became a catalyst and a mediator of informing people as to how they can travel during tough times.

Share some insights into what went in the travel community during the last few months. Are you excited as travel opens up slowly?

We definitely saw a lull period which started from March-end and went out till September-October, up until domestic flights started. Even when flight operations started, it was not much for leisure, and rather about emergency travel, where people were looking to reunite with their family members. Once travel started, the market bounced back due to the pent-up demand of people wanting to travel. The demand was clearly at its peak and there was a ‘revenge travel’, that we saw, where people were wanting to get out of their homes and explore, even if it meant to get away on road trips.

I do think that domestic tourism is growing and has caught up already. This is also why we have started our new show “I love my India”, where we discover hidden gems in India and where Indians can actually find international experiences right here in the home country.

What were some of the challenges that you faced, when you shifted to this from your job? How did you overcome them?

I gave myself a time limit of one year, thinking that I will boomerang into my job. But as fate had it, there was no looking back. The biggest challenge for me in this journey has been to find people with whom I can share my passion. A shared vision fueled by mutual passion leads to the meaningful content of relevance and keeps the team motivated. I feel blessed to have an amazing team that meets these requisites, and have been instrumental in taking Curly Tales to where it is today.

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-Top News Asia News

Pakistan blocks Social media amid protests

“Social media has been blocked for a few hours so that troublemakers can not use it during Friday prayers congregations,” said an official…reports Asian Lite News

Pakistan on Friday blocked social media platforms amid fears that activists of a radical Islamist group might use the technology to stoke violent protests against last year’s depiction of the Prophet Muhammad in France.

Followers of far-right Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), a group that supports the country’s controversial blasphemy laws, have blocked roads and chocked streets at deadly protests that started on Monday, reports dpa news agency.

The protesters are demanding that the government fulfil an earlier promise to expel the French Ambassador by April 20 over the publication of a cartoon depicting the prophet last year.

At least five people including two police officers have been killed in the protests, which have prompted the France Embassy in Islamabad to urge French nationals to leave Pakistan temporarily.

“Social media has been blocked for a few hours so that troublemakers can not use it during Friday prayers congregations,” an official told dpa.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp and TikTok are inaccessible across the country, including the capital Islamabad.

Political parties, Islamist groups and militant organisations like Pakistani Taliban heavily rely on social media platforms to connect with their followers.

Also read:Imran Blames Women As Rape Cases Soar in Pakistan

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-Top News USA

Mns spent by Facebook for CEO security

The cost of base security was up to $13.4 million last year, compared to $10.4 million the year prior…reports Asian Lite News.

Facebook spent more than $23 million (about Rs 171 crore) to provide security for its CEO Mark Zuckerberg in 2020.

The company’s annual reviews of company security “identified specific threats to Zuckerberg,” according to a proxy statement filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), reports The Verge.

“He is synonymous with Facebook, and as a result, negative sentiment regarding our company is directly associated with, and often transferred to, Mr. Zuckerberg,” read the statement.

Zuckerberg with Barack Obama

Facebook spent $23 million for personal security at Zuckerberg’s residences and for travel for him and his family. The Facebook CEO also received an additional $10 million to put toward security personnel and other security costs.

The cost of base security was up to $13.4 million last year, compared to $10.4 million the year prior.

“Under Mr Zuckerberg’s overall security programme, we pay for costs related to personal security for Mr. Zuckerberg at his residences and during personal travel, including the annual costs of security personnel for his protection and the procurement, installation, and maintenance of certain security measures for his residences,” the company said.

Facebook. (File Photo: IANS)

“We also provide an annual pre-tax allowance of $10 million to Mr Zuckerberg to cover additional costs related to his and his family’s personal security,” Facebook added.

In addition, Zuckerberg uses private aircraft for personal travel in connection with his overall security programme.

On certain occasions, he may be accompanied by guests when using private aircraft.

The costs of Zuckerberg’s security programme vary from year to year depending on requisite security measures, his travel schedule, and other factors.

The company said that the increased costs in 2020 were primarily due to regular personal travel, costs relating to security protocols during the Covid-19 pandemic, increased security coverage during the 2020 US elections and other periods with increased security risk, and market increases in the costs of security personnel.

Zuckerberg has requested to receive only $1 in annual salary and does not receive any bonus payments, equity awards, or other incentive compensation, Facebook added.

Also Read-‘Facebook job ads biased against women’

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-Top News USA

Trump’s social media comeback soon

Former US President Donald Trump(IANS)

Trump’s platform would “completely redefine the game” and rake in “tens of millions” of users,according to the former advisor…reports Asian Lite News

Former US President Donald Trump will make a social media comeback on “his own platform” in the next two or three months, an advisor has said.

The former advisor, Jason Miller, made the remarks on Sunday during an appearance on Fox News, The Hill news website reported.

According to Miller, the former President’s platform would “completely redefine the game” and rake in “tens of millions” of users.

He did not provide any further details of the supposed platform, but added that “everybody is going to be waiting and watching to see what exactly President Trump does”, the BBC rported.

Miller further said that Trump has had “high-powered meetings” with various teams regarding the venture at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

“This new platform is going to be big,” he added.

There was however no official comment from Trump representatives on the claims.

Trump was suspended from Twitter, Facebook and YouTube after the deadly January 6 Capitol riots.

But few days later, the micro-blogging platform said that it was permanently suspending the former President’s account “due to the risk of further incitement of violence”.

The was also suspended from gaming platform Twitch and multimedia messaging app Snapchat.

Also read:Pelosi slams Trump over ‘broken border system’