WebinarsNew
Deep DiveNew
Explore Business Standard
IT Ministry
The government has asked Meta, owner of Instagram and Facebook, to ensure that its recommendation systems do not result in "disproportionate exposure of users to a single or limited set of narratives", and to step up checks on content that could cause public disorder or incite violence or other unlawful activity. The advisory by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), dated October 10, asked Meta to undertake appropriate measures to provide adequate context in relation to photographs, videos, graphics, or other content depicting ongoing public events, particularly where the authenticity, date, location or circumstances of such content may not be readily apparent to users. Although the advisory does not identify any specific incident that prompted its issuance, it comes amid protests led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and opposition parties in Delhi demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision ..
The government has advised large social media firms to prioritise action against unlawful content related to ongoing protests based on complaints received from authorised bodies, including law enforcement agencies, sources aware of the development said. The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) is learnt to have issued an advisory to social media platforms on October 8, expressing concern over the online circulation of certain information related to the ongoing protests that is false, misleading, manipulated or presented out of context. The IT Ministry has expressed apprehension that such unlawful content may disturb public order, social tranquility and raise law and order concern as well as may incite violence. "MeitY has advised large social media platforms to identify such unlawful content and prioritise action based on complaints received from authorised government bodies," an official source aware of the development said. The advisory has asked social media platforms to labe
India sees no reason to slow down its artificial intelligence efforts, as much of the work here is focused on developing applications tailored to the needs of its people, IT Ministry sources said on Monday, drawing a distinction from the global calls for a pause on AI that are largely targeting frontier models. The government is concerned about issues related to AI safety, the sources said, adding that the obligation to report such incidents to authorities, exists today. To a question on whether the mechanism for incident notification would now be tightened in the wake of recent cases of AI agents autonomously taking actions beyond their intended tasks, the sources said, "Cybersecurity threat and cyber incidents include an incident of this nature. As it is, an obligation to report exists. We will have to tighten the norms, timeframe and content of the reporting, we are already doing that." The position assumes significance as concerns have intensified after researchers and safety ..
Fintech firm PhonePe on Thursday announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to integrate its enterprise data intelligence platform, PulsePro, into the PM GatiShakti framework. The platform transforms aggregated and anonymised transaction data into market signals, allowing organisations to access real-world activity trends across various geographies and categories for smarter, data-based decision-making. The collaboration is aimed at supporting national infrastructure planning, economic analysis, and holistic urban and rural development through granular, hyperlocal insights, the company said in a statement. Under the agreement, PhonePe PulsePro metrics will be integrated into the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan portal, which is managed in collaboration with the Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG-N). "Data-driven intelligence can play an import
Amid Elon Musk's recent announcement that X will make government content takedown requests more transparent and visible, a senior IT Ministry official on Tuesday asserted that the platform "will have to comply with the Indian laws". X's new transparency push seeks to make government-directed content restrictions more visible to users, and bring more clarity on takedown requests. It intends to disclose which government was behind such a request, and why the content was flagged. Asked about the IT Ministry's stance on the issue, a senior official made it clear that the platform "will have to comply with Indian law". "...There is a process...there are two sets of processes. We don't talk about orders we issue specifically under 69 (A) because it is intended to be maintained as confidential," the official said. In a post on X recently, Musk had announced that "any censorship required by governments is now clearly visible". X and the Indian government have sparred in the past over cont
The government's hard talk with Meta has led to action and increased sensitivity on the issue of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), IT Ministry sources said on Tuesday, adding that the Centre has been unequivocal that such content is a clear violation and there is no safe harbour when law is violated in this manner. Sources said the government's intent is not about censorship or restricting coverage in any way, but ensuring Indian laws and norms are followed and that social media harms are mitigated. "The message has gone home," they said. During discussions, Meta explained how its algorithms and systems work, ministry sources said, noting that discussions are on and such matters involve "judgment calls, and tweaks". On the WhatsApp username row, sources said the matter is under examination as it doesn't involve just that particular platform, but other messaging apps as well. Sources said concerns over social media harms is not something specific only to India, it is a concern sha
Meta global team on Wednesday met top IT Ministry officials, following government summons over the removal of PM Narendra Modi's post on Facebook. Wrongful action on prominent post and lapses in curbing child sexual abuse material on social media platform were among the concerns raised by the government. Top Meta executives, including Global Affairs officer Joel Kaplan, met IT secretary S Krishnan and other senior officials of Meity in a discussion that lasted 45 minutes. The team is also slated to meet Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw later today. The meeting is significant as the government had summoned Meta's top global executives after Prime Minister Modi's recent Facebook post addressing Indian youth and promising stringent action against paper leaks was briefly restricted on the platform. While the US-headquartered social media giant had attributed the incident to a technical glitch and apologised, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had found th
The government will raise a number of issues, including lapses in tackling of CSAM as well as wrongful action on prominent account during the upcoming meeting with Meta's global team, IT Secretary S Krishnan said on Tuesday, adding that a company at the forefront of technology should have been able to make its systems work as they are supposed to. Meta's global team will be in India on August 5 and 6, Krishnan said. The upcoming meeting is significant as the government has summoned Meta's top global executives after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent Facebook post addressing India's youth and promising stringent action against paper leaks, was briefly restricted on the platform. Meta has also been under regulatory scrutiny over Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material (CSEAM) in paid advertisements on Instagram, and the government had earlier slapped a notice on Meta over the issue. "There are a range of issues...the CSAM issue was raised, so what measures have been taken ..
Meta wrote to the government on Wednesday outlining the specifics of enhanced and rigorous safeguards it has now implemented for content posted by the Prime Minister and other prominent accounts, according to sources. Meta has informed the IT Ministry that posts by the Prime Minister and prominent accounts will have additional oversight on the platform and that multiple checks will take place at levels of senior company officials, sources said, citing the social media firm's communication to the ministry. Meta team is likely to meet government officials later this week or early next week over the Prime Minister's Facebook post issue, sources added. An email sent by PTI to Meta seeking comments did not elicit a response. The government on Tuesday summoned a top Meta executive after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent post addressing India's youth and promising stringent measures against paper leaks was briefly restricted by Facebook, and although the US-headquartered social media