India unveils new rules to regulate Facebook, WhatsApp content
- Indian PM Narendra Modi’s BJP government is tightening the leash on Big Tech, with regulations to make social media companies more accountable
- Meanwhile, Facebook ended its week-long blackout of Australian news and announced preliminary deals with three small local publishers
India is the largest market by users for both Facebook and its messenger service WhatsApp.
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The new rules issued by the government, called the Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code, will be legally enforceable.
Social media firms should be “more responsible and accountable”, said Ravi Shankar Prasad, the minister for information technology.
The government also said companies need to assist in probes or other cyber security-related incidents within 72 hours of receiving a request. They must also disable within a day any post depicting an individual in a sexual act or conduct, said the rules.
Prasad also told reporters the rules would oblige the companies to reveal the originator of a message or post when legally ordered.
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Facebook said it welcomed rules that prescribe ways to address challenges on the web. “The details of rules like these matter and we will carefully study the new rules,” it said in a statement. Facebook-owned WhatsApp declined to comment.
A Twitter spokesman said the company would study the guidelines and looked forward to continued engagement with the Indian government.
“We believe that regulation is beneficial when it safeguards citizen’s fundamental rights and reinforces online freedoms,” he said in a statement.
India’s rules will also require video-streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video to classify content into five categories based on users’ age, the government said.
Online news media will also be regulated as part of the new rules, with the ministry of information and broadcasting creating an oversight system.
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Apar Gupta, the executive director at advocacy Internet Freedom Foundation, said the new rules for digital news media portals and video-streaming platforms posed risks to freedom of speech.
“To fix the problems in these sectors the government has adopted an approach which carries the risks of political control and censorship,” he said.
AUSTRALIA BLOCK
Tech firms are coming under tighter scrutiny worldwide. Facebook faced a backlash last week from some publishers and politicians after it blocked news feeds in Australia in a dispute with the government over revenue-sharing.
That prompted last-ditch changes by Australia in a law passed on Thursday to ensure Alphabet’s Google and Facebook pay media companies for content, a step that nations such as Britain and Canada want to follow.
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Facebook on Friday ended its week-long blackout of Australian news on its site, reflecting easing tensions between the company and Australian government, and announced preliminary commercial agreements with three small local publishers.
It signed partnership agreements with Schwartz Media, Solstice Media and Private Media, which own a mix of publications, including weekly newspapers, online magazines and specialist periodicals. It did not disclose the financial details of the agreements, which will become effective within 60 days if a full deal is signed.
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“These agreements will bring a new slate of premium journalism, including some previously paywalled content, to Facebook,” the social media company said in a statement.
Facebook on Tuesday struck a similar agreement with Seven West Media, which owns a free-to-air television network and the main metropolitan newspaper in the city of Perth. The Australian Broadcasting Corp has said it was also in talks with Facebook.
