Facebook, Google and Twitter have till April to tell the Delhi High Court who's in charge of removing fake news

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Facebook, Google and Twitter have till April to tell the Delhi High Court who's in charge of removing fake news
Facebook logo is displayed on a mobile phone Reuters

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  • The Delhi High Court issued a notice to social networking platforms to notify them of their designated officers in charge of removing fake news.
  • The court issued the notice in response to a plea filed by former RSS leader KN Govindarcharya accusing these platforms of “misusing free speech”.
  • The matter will be heard again on April 14.
The Delhi High Court issued a notice to social networking platforms — including Facebook, Google and Twitter — to tell them who’s in charge of removing fake news and hate speeches.

According to the bench, each intermediary should have at least one designated officer in charge of such tasks under the Informational Technology Act, 2000.

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The court’s notice is in response to a plea filed by former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader KN Govindacharya accusing “various social media companies of misusing the idea of free speech and not complying with Indian laws which result in a divisive society and riots-like situation”.

The notice was issued by the bench constituting Justice DN Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar. The next hearing will take plan on April 14.
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Hate speech online bursting into violence offline
The issue of registering FIR’s against hate speech being circulated on social media was brought up last month on February 26. The petition filed by social activist and former IAS officer Harsh Mander was heard on an ‘urgent’ basis. It drew a link between the turbulence and provocative speeches by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur and Pravesh Verma.

According to the Special Commissioner of Police, there are 48 pending FIRs with the police on hate speech. The Solicitor General Tushar Mehta asked for more time to file a counter-affidavit and the matter will be heard again on April 13.

BJP leader Ashwini Kumar has filed his own PIL with the Supreme Court. It seeks the implementation of the Law Commission Report on hate speech. The court is yet to take up the petition.

Protests in India
Massive protests have erupted around India after the government announced its new citizenship laws — the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Population Registry (NPR). The problem of fake news plagues WhatsApp more than Twitter or Facebook, where there are still some level of quality control in place.

On the Facebook-owned messaging app, users have the freedom to share unverified information that can’t be traced back to its original sender. It’s one of the most popular apps on the market with 400 million users. In comparison, Twitter only has 8 million Indians online.
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See also:
Hyper-nationalism behind India’s fake news menace: Report

How to fact check fake news on WhatsApp

Here's how global tech giants are tackling 'fake news' ahead of elections in the world's largest democracy



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