Comply with the new IT rules: House panel to Facebook and Google

Facebook and Google representatives Tuesday deposed before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology over the issue of social media misuse, with sources saying they were told to comply with the new IT rules, government instructions and court orders.

The panel, chaired by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, had asked them to appear in-person at the parliament secretariat. While from Facebook its country public policy director Shivnath Thukral and general counsel Namrata Singh deposed before the panel, Google was represented by its country head (government affairs and public policy) Aman Jain and director (legal) Gitanjali Duggal. 

The agenda of the parliamentary panel meeting was to safeguard citizens' rights and prevent the misuse of social/online news media platforms.

The sources said the representatives were conveyed that there are loopholes in their existing data protection and privacy policy mechanism, and were asked to put in place stringent safeguards to protect data privacy and data security of their users. 

A Google spokesperson said: “We always welcome opportunities to engage in dialogue with the policy makers and share details of our efforts in combating illegal content and ensuring the safety of users across our platforms.”