Prasad said YouTube, Google, WhatsApp etc, are public platforms and when there is porn and fake news, material designed to provoke violence and communal considerations are put on the platforms, it is the responsibility of the platforms to tackle it.
Communications and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday said platforms like Google, YouTube and WhatsApp should be responsible and accountable in tackling fake news and child pornography. Speaking to the Indian Express Group Executive Director, Anant Goenka, at the IAMAI India Digital Summit, Prasad said that the digital world is pious and pure and is very empowering also but if fake news comes there, it creates a problem.
“I am a great supporter of creativity and freedom but there are also social obligations… digital world can never be caged and should not be caged. But the digital world has to be responsible, accountable and most important sensitive. For the sake of earning money, is it right to show what we are showing?” he asked.
He further said YouTube, Google, WhatsApp etc, are public platforms and when there is porn and fake news, material designed to provoke violence and communal considerations are put on the platforms, it is the responsibility of the platforms to tackle it. The minister also highlighted the issue of revenge porn, which is creeping in India. “…girlfriend and boyfriend split up and then what happens, platform is being abused. Let me share a serious parliamentary concern, the way Internet is being abused for porn, child porn is a serious issue,” he said.
Prasad also reiterated that WhatsApp must provide traceability of messages. “I asked them simply how is it that on the same day, same issue, same geographical area, millions of messages are being replicated. Once I talked very tough, now they have lowered it to five messages, but I have one problem still going on. Who is the initiator of that sin… and if it comes from abroad, who was the first in India to start it?” he asked.
The government and WhatsApp have been engaged in a tussle regarding traceability of messages with the platform insisting that since messages are end-to-end encrypted, it can’t provide the origin. However, after being forced by the government, WhatsApp has lowered the number to five the number of times a message can be forwarded. “You must remember, India is emerging as a big global power and there are forces that want to create hurdles… that is their outlook but you don’t allow your platform to be abused for that, that is my appeal,” he said.
When Goenka asked if concentration of so much power in Silicon Valley is a concern, Prasad said he is not worried as Silicon Valley has done it with hard work, imagination and innovation.