Recently, tech giants like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, got slammed by IT veteran Mohandas Pai who claimed that these tech giants have double standards in India. According to IT officials and netizens, social media platforms follow laws of other nations and there is no significant reason why they shouldn’t in India.
According to former Chief Financial Officer of Bengaluru-based IT major Infosys Ltd, T.V. Mohandas Pai, said that, “The Indian government and the country’s laws should define and protect the privacy of citizens.” He also predicted that this case can go to Supreme Court.
The Petition and Pai’s Prediction on it
On Tuesday evening, WhatsApp filed a lawsuit in Delhi High Court challenging the government’s new digital rules saying the requirement for the company to provide access to encrypted messages will break privacy protections. They also seeked to declare the rule requiring the message service provider to identify the first originator of any message flagged as a violation of privacy rights provided by the constitution.
The new IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 were announced by the government on February 25 and it requires large social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp to comply with the norms till 25th May.
The rules demanded such large platforms to follow additional diligence, including the appointment of a chief compliance officer, nodal contact person and resident grievance officer. Against the rule, WhatsApp said the traceability provision is unethical and against the fundamental right to privacy.
To the Petition, T.V. Pai raised a statement that, the big issue in this situation is that should a private social media platform decide such matters by means of a single biased contract or should run according to the regulations.
He asked that, “These platforms have now become public utilities as crores of people use them! Our Data is not safe! They are subject to US law and their security agencies have full access to our Data. So where is the privacy?” Also he released a statement that let the Court decide, not WhatsApp. He made it clear that, WhatsApp have clear double standards.
Also read- IT Rules 2021 Explained: The rules that Twitter, WhatsApp and other platforms have not complied on
Zoho Founder and CEO Sridhar Vembu’s take on this case
On the other hand, Zoho founder and CEO Sridhar Vembu pressed an attack on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube over their disagreement to comply with India’s new information technology (IT) rules, asserting that they have to operate according to the laws of the land and stop dictating terms over the Government.
Around 3 years ago, Vembu moved from Silicon Valley to a village in Tenkasi district in Tamil Nadu, from where he runs the software product firm Zoho, with an aim to empower rural communities. His firm valued at over a billion dollars, is now surviving under resources.
Vembu, who curated Zoho in 1996, said platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, have vested themselves with the power to determine what is acceptable in the form of speech, across the world on a variety of topics and that these are not guided by algorithms but by individuals who are running the cycle.
Social Platform’s hypocrites
In a recent interview Vembu told that-
“These platforms are already doing censorship. Take the COVID-19 issue when they censored all discussions related to its origins in the Wuhan lab. So for them to turn around and accuse the Indian government of something is just hypocritical. If they want to operate in our country, they have to operate according to our laws. They don’t get to make laws here.”
Vembu is a dedicated and active advocate of the government’s Atmanirbhar policy, focusing on the fact that the country must develop its own tech know-how and reduce the dependence on foreign enterprises.
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Platforms to be held liable
While the platforms will resume operating after the deadline, they will lose their powers as intermediaries under Section 79 of the IT Act and will be liable for third-party user-generated content under India’s civil and criminal laws.
According to Vembu, platforms do not have the accountability of elected governments. Adding to his statement he raised a fact that-
“They hide behind their algorithms. If an executive from Twitter will testify in front of US Congress, should they not be actually asked to testify in front of the Indian Parliament?”
Also read- WhatsApp sues Central government, cites new rules means an end to privacy
India’s Image around the globe after this
Many internet analysts have raised their concern that India’s image, for investment and democratic freedoms, will be surely affected in the event of high-raging action against social media platforms.
On this raising concern Vembu striked a disagreement by saying that-
“Indians should stop acting like school kids looking for approval from school teachers. There is not some global school teacher that is approving our actions. The US State Department issuing reports on India, India should be issuing reports on the US too.”
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