ccording to a government official cited in the Bloomberg report, The Internet and Mobile Association

of India (IAMAI), a trade body that comprises members from Facebook, among others, raised
concerns over the new rules. The Centre proposed the new reforms in 2018. IAMAI responded that
the requirements “would be a violation of the right to privacy recognised by the Supreme Court.”
However, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology will nevertheless bring forth the
new reforms without much alterations made to the earlier proposal, the Bloomberg report added.

According to the guidelines noted in the earlier draft, all social media sites will have to help the
government trace the origins of a post within 72 hours. The companies would have to retrieve the
data for 180 days that will help government sleuths in the investigation.

The official stated that companies such as Mozilla and Wikipedia that serve as online repositories of
information will not fall under the guidelines. Only social media platforms and messaging apps would
be covered, the report further added.

The rules will cover all social media platforms and messaging apps with more than five million users.
However, the Centre is yet to mention if foreign tourists will also come under scrutiny while visiting
India.

Social media sites are now in a fix whether to cooperate with the law enforcement agencies or to
support the right to privacy of their users.

Increase in the number of fake news items

Recently, India has seen a surge in the number of fake news items in circulation, especially on
WhatsApp and Facebook.

In 2018, fake information that was circulated on WhatsApp led to the lynching of five men who were
brutally beaten to death in Rainpada, Maharashtra. When the agencies asked WhatsApp to help
them track the origin of the post, WhatsApp denied, citing its promise of end-to-end encryption.
However, the messaging app offered to fund research into preventing the spread of fake news.
WhatsApp also extended aid to the government with a public education campaign in India, its
biggest global market.

Social media sites reluctant to share information

After getting to know of the government’s plan, WhatsApp, on Wednesday issued a statement citing
that it will not compromise on security. It stated that this move will make people feel less safe to use
WhatsApp. It further assured that the messaging app works closely with the top security experts to
stop misuse of any kind. WhatsApp aims to achieve this without sacrificing privacy, Bloomberg
reported.
Tech companies and civil rights groups see this as a threat, especially after the Pegasus case in
which as many as 120 journalists and social-activists in India were snooped upon. The case was
uncovered in September last year.