New Delhi: The Government aims to have an open, safe, trusted and accountable internet in the country by permitting the large social media companies to verify a user’s social media account through an appropriate mechanism, including the use of an Indian mobile number, but at present, there is no proposal before the government to bring a separate law to ensure the verification of all social media accounts with a government ID, Rajeev Chandrashekhar, the minister of state for Electronics and IT, said on Wednesday.
In response to a question, Chandrashekhar told the Lok Sabha that under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, social media platforms have been made accountable to their users for enhancing user safety online. The minister said as per the said rules, the significant social media intermediary (SSMI) will enable users who register for their services from India, or use their services in India, to voluntarily verify their accounts by using any appropriate mechanism, including the active Indian mobile number of such users.
"If a user voluntarily verifies his or her account, such user shall be provided with a demonstrable and visible mark of verification," he said. Chandrashekhar, however, clarified that at present there was no proposal with the ministry to bring a separate law to ensure and authenticate all the social media accounts or for linking a Government identity with social media accounts of Indian social media users. In response to Congress MP Abdul Khaleque, the minister said the government was well aware of the risks and dangers posed by the growing phenomena of fake news and dissemination of wrong information through various social media platforms.
“With Cyberspace being virtual, borderless, mostly anonymous and with anyone being able to post, share, communicate any message from anywhere across the world at any time, it is a global challenge to identify and stop the spread of fake news on social media,” Chandrashekhar told the Lok Sabha members. The minister listed out several measures taken by the government to address the problem of misinformation and rumour spreading through various online media platforms including social media, news channels and other online portals.
These measures include that social media platforms will publish privacy policy and terms of use of their platform. They are required to inform their users not to host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, update or share any information that is harmful, objectionable, and unlawful in any way. Social media platforms are also required to remove any unlawful content related to Article 19(2) of the Constitution of India or violative of any law, as and when brought to their knowledge either through a court order or through a notice by appropriate government or its agency.
The rules also require that publishers of online news observe the Code of Ethics which includes adherence to the norms of Journalistic Conduct of the Press Council of India, under the Press Council Act of 1978 and also with the Programme Code under section 5 of the Cable Television Networks Regulation) Act of 1995. Also, any content which is prohibited under any law will not be published or transmitted.
“As per rule 4(2) of the above said Rules, a Significant Social Media Intermediary (SSMI) primarily providing messaging service are required to identify the first originator of the information for the purposes of prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution or punishment of an offence,” said the minister.
