Page 2 - Social Media

Govt proposes to bring independent news creators under MIB purview

Proposed IT Rules amendment seeks to bring independent news and current affairs creators on platforms like YouTube and X under MIB oversight

US visa rules from March 30: Social media checks expanded beyond H-1B visas

US asks visa applicants, including H-1B and student categories, to make social media profiles public as part of expanded screening from March 30

Platforms have almost doubled-tripled deepfake takedowns: Vaishnaw

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday highlighted rising concerns over AI-generated deepfakes, and noted that social media platforms, too, have scaled up efforts on deepfake takedowns. The minister termed deepfakes as a new menace and a threat to society. "A lot of content has started coming in the nature of deepfakes. Because of whatever changes have happened in the AI world, a huge quantity of deepfakes have started coming in the social media... the entire world, and the social media platforms themselves have significantly ramped up their efforts at removing the deepfakes," Vaishnaw, who is the minister for IT as well as Information and Broadcasting, told reporters. The platforms themselves have almost doubled or tripled their own takedowns of deepfake content, he added. "It's a new menace, new threat, which is coming for the society," he said, adding that countering it effectively is very important for society, for every individual, and institution.

Best of BS Opinion: Iran conflict gives India a chance for energy reform

From the US-Iran conflict's global fallout to social media accountability, India's energy challenges and corporate law reforms, today's BS Opinion offers a wide-ranging policy perspective

Restricting social harm: US verdicts expose social media's design flaws

Regulation must engage with the architecture of platforms rather than rely solely on blunt prohibitions

Datanomics: Emigration to unemployment, a lot on the table for Nepal's PM

High unemployment, migration surge and heavy remittance reliance pose key economic challenges for Nepal's new PM Balendra Shah

How Meta, YouTube were found 'negligent' in social media addiction lawsuit

A Los Angeles jury ruled that Meta and YouTube were negligent in designing addictive platforms that harmed a young user, marking a landmark decision amid social media addiction concerns

Meta, Google risk Big Tobacco-like fallout after addiction trial verdict

Unless the verdict is overturned on appeal, the companies may need to change how their products work, a move that could jeopardise the valuable advertising businesses

Govt may cut content takedown compliance timeline to 1 hour from 3 hours

The government is considering reducing the content takedown timeline to one hour from three, subject to stakeholder consultations and implementation feedback from intermediaries

Threat to fair trial: SC expresses concern over cops posting videos online

The Supreme Court has expressed its concern over the trend of people instantly uploading videos shot on mobile phone on social media and said that such activities pose a serious threat to a fair trial. The remark was made by a bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi on Friday. The bench was hearing a PIL that alleged that police upload videos and photographs of the accused on social media and create a bias in people's minds. The PIL argued that the court, in another case, had already asked the states to frame guidelines for media briefing by the police, and it would cover social media posts as well. The bench suggested the petitioner Hemendra Patel to await the outcome of those guidelines, and agreed with senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for Patel, that every person nowadays with a mobile phone has become media. The senior counsel flagged the recent trend of police posting the images of accused persons being ...

RSS needs to increase activism on social media for 'good cause': Bhagwat

Social media is widely used, and there is a need for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to increase "activism" on such platforms for a good cause, said RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday. He was speaking at the centenary event of the Marathi newspaper Tarun Bharat in Nagpur. The RSS chief said that while social media is used extensively by people, it should be utilised for a good cause. "Memes and reels are already in circulation. Some content is being disseminated through the RSS' communication department, and our volunteers are also using social media. This will gain acceptance. I won't call it an expectation, but we will have to increase our activism there," he said. Bringing people together and transforming society were both necessary and mutually reinforcing, he said. When a committed volunteer is developed, they take up constructive work, which spreads through society and contributes to desired change, said the RSS chief. Bhagwat said the RSS's work was expanding and required

More ministries may get powers to order removal of online content

Government may amend Section 69(A) of the IT Act to empower key ministries to issue emergency content takedown orders, expanding powers beyond MeitY

Selected civil services candidates told to avoid self-promotion online

All recently selected civil services candidates have been asked to refrain from self-promotion and impulsive postings on social media, according to an official advisory issued for them. It has also asked them to maintain professional distance from commercial and institutional endorsements, and ensure that their achievements are not used for private gain or publicity. Civil servants are the public face of the State and their conduct is under constant public scrutiny, the advisory said. "You must ensure that your personal conduct and official and social interface with the general public, people's representatives, corporate entities, civil society organisations, government personnel, all other dignitaries and vulnerable sections of the society is courteous, respectful, dignified and appropriate," it said. The advisory for the candidates selected through the Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2025, has been issued by Mussoorie-based Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration

WhatsApp introduces new parent-managed accounts for children below 13

WhatsApp introduces parent-managed accounts for children under 13, allowing guardians to control contacts, groups and privacy settings from the primary device

Meta to acquire Moltbook, the viral social media network for AI agents

Meta said on Wednesday it is acquiring Moltbook, a social network built exclusively for artificial intelligence agents to make posts and interact with each other. A takeover of the AI experiment by the parent company of Facebook and Instagram comes weeks after Moltbook attracted viral attention as an unusual Reddit-like hub for AI systems trading gossip. Meta's move reflects the tech industry's ongoing fascination with the promise of AI agents that go beyond a chatbot's capabilities in being able to act and perform tasks on a person's behalf. Meta said in a statement that Moltbook introduced novel ideas in a "rapidly developing space" and will open "new ways for AI agents to work for people and businesses". Meta said it was hiring Moltbook co-founders Matt Schlicht and Ben Parr. The deal's financial terms were not disclosed. In a similar move, OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT, last month hired the creator of AI agent OpenClaw, formerly called Moltbot and the technology upon which Moltbook

Idea is not to ban social media but regulate it for teens: Priyank Kharge

Priyank Kharge says the move targets excessive screen time and online risks for children, stressing stakeholder consultations and age-verification challenges before framing guidelines

SC to hear Centre's plea against HC order striking down IT rules

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to examine the Centre's plea challenging a Bombay High Court verdict that struck down amendments to Information Technology Rules aimed at regulating fake and false content posted on social media against the government. The top court did not stay the 2024 High Court verdict, which struck down the amended Information Technology Rules and termed them "unconstitutional", even as a three-judge bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices R Mahadevan and Joymalya Bagchi issued notices to the original petitioners, including stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra, the Editors Guild of India, and the Association of Indian Magazines. The High Court struck down the rules amended in 2023 to empower the central government to establish a Fact-Check Unit (FCU) to identify "fake, false, or misleading" information regarding "government business" on social media. If the FCU flagged content under those rules, social media intermediaries such as X, Facebook, or ...

Maharashtra to form DGP-led panel to curb social media defamation: Fadnavis

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said a committee headed by the Director General of Police (DGP) would be formed to curb attempts to defame individuals through social media. The CM made the statement in the legislative assembly while replying to a question on cybercrimes. The committee headed by the state DGP will study the issue and suggest measures to take action in cases where individuals are defamed through social media platforms, Fadnavis said. Earlier, Minister of State for Home, Yogesh Kadam, informed the House that new methods of cybercrimes were emerging with the use of advanced technologies. The government has developed a special mobile application to create awareness among people and help them remain alert about such crimes, he said. Through the app, around 21 crore awareness messages will be sent to citizens every month to educate them about cybercrime and preventive measures, Kadam added. The issue was raised in the House by Prashant Thakur (BJ

Karnataka's plan to ban social media for teens needs review: MeitY secy

MeitY Secretary S Krishnan says social media and online gaming fall under the Centre's jurisdiction as it examines state proposals to ban teen access; consultations on DPDP Act compliance window conti

Musk's spam concern was 'confusing': Ex-Twitter executives tell court

Two days of testimony from Agrawal and Segal pushed back on Musk's own recollection that he was always committed to the deal, but believed that Twitter had lied to him about per cent of spam accounts