‘Ensure FB does not manipulate polls’

Asking the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEIT) to furnish written communication to and the response from Facebook over breach of data, a Parliamentary panel on IT sought the government to take an undertaking from the social media giant to ensure that their platform would not be used to manipulate elections in India.

BJP MP Anurag Thakur, head of the Parliamentary Standing Committee (PSC) on IT, said, “The chairman told Ministry officials to get a written commitment from Facebook and other social media platforms with an influential market share in the country that their platforms would not be used to manipulate Indian elections.”

‘Look into steps taken’

Sources said that members of the panel recommended that the government secure details of the steps Facebook and other social networking platforms have taken to avoid such misuse.

Mr. Thakur also tweeted to ask the public for suggestions and queries to improve online security and privacy after the meeting.

MPs on the panel are learnt to have told the officials that “India still has to travel some distance when it comes to a data protection policy”.

Committee members also expressed disappointment that the IT Ministry did not have adequate data on the revenue and profitability of tech giants operating in India.

In the wake of multiple reports of data breach, especially with regard to Aadhaar, the committee suggested the Ministry put a robust regulatory framework in place to protect the privacy of Indian citizens.

Last month, when news reports had emerged that the privacy of millions of Facebook users had been compromised by data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica, the MEIT had written to Facebook asking for information regarding data sharing and breach of privacy.

Facebook admitted that over half a million users in India had been affected by data leaks.