'India won’t compromise its digital sovereignty': Ravi Shankar Prasad
In an interview to HT, Prasad who also holds the portfolio of Law and Justice, said social media companies willing to do business in India will have to abide by the law of the land as India will not compromise its digital sovereignty.
The guidelines framed for social media companies known as the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, introduced this year are aimed at preventing the abuse and misuse of social media and will not affect the ordinary users said union minister for Communications, Electronics and Information and Technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad.
In an interview to HT, Prasad who also holds the portfolio of Law and Justice, said social media companies willing to do business in India will have to abide by the law of the land as India will not compromise its digital sovereignty. He also clarified that there is no reason for the employees of any social media company to fear for their safety.
Edited excerpts
Q What is the reason for the standoff between the social media companies and the government?
A India is a democracy, social media companies are free to do business here and earn profit. They have empowered ordinary Indians, but our approach is very straight forward; namely, you (companies) will have to follow the constitution and laws of India.
Q There are concerns that these guidelines will lead to censorship of voices that are critical of the government and about maintaining end-to-end encryption.
A These guidelines do not deal with the use of social media. We permit criticism against the government and the Prime Minister, but the issue is the abuse and misuse of social media platforms. What should I say when a woman complains that her morphed image is being circulated on social media? Or a mother complains that her daughter’s ex-boyfriend is pushing out all intimate pictures. Should they be asked to go to America to file a complaint? Nowadays judges are trolled and defamed; fake news has become an everyday occurrence.
These guidelines basically enjoin three things. Number one, appoint an India-based grievance redressal officer whose address and phone number are known to us and those grievances must be addressed in 15 days time. You have to give a monthly report that grievances have been addressed. Secondly, have a compliance officer to deal with the rules and regulations and third, for nodal contact with the government there must be a person. Are we asking for the moon? There are more than hundred crore users of social media in India it did not happen suddenly there was demand from civil society there were two Supreme Court judgments in 2018 and the Facebook case of 2019 where the Supreme Court spoke about how some messages can incite violence or be a threat to the sovereignty of the country; pedophiles use it in a big way.In such circumstances it is imperative that there is a properly framed regime to find out the person and institutional bodies who are the originators of such content.
Q …But there is a concern that traceability would compromise privacy.
A Let me a sure all the users of WhatsApp; ordinary users have nothing to fear. They will do as they are doing now. What we are seeking now is information about only those messages whose contents are already in the public domain --which incite a riot, mob lynching, impinge on the sovereignty and security of the country, show a woman in bad light or show child sexual abuse-- and are being circulated and re-circulated. They have to disclose who began the mischief and if it has come from across the border, who lapped it up in India. Can we deny that last year during the riot in Delhi many explosive messages came from across the border?
This will be done only and only when other less intrusive methods have not worked. There is a reasonable classification that it is for the public good for the safety and security of India, and dignity of women and against child sexual abuse.
Q Has the government addressed the concern of not having a digital fingerprint on all messages?
A The problem of technology is answered by technology. Cambridge analytical obtained data from Facebook of five lakh Indians. In their recent privacy policy, they say we shall share data on WhatsApp with other business associates including Facebook, so where is privacy.
Let us disabuse ourselves of this notion of privacy. We appreciate the judgement of Supreme Court on privacy. But in the same judgment, the court observed that a terrorist or a corrupt or a criminal do not have the right of privacy otherwise there will be no investigation.
Second, what a person eats is a personal choice, but if you go to a restaurant the bill will be digital. They know what you ate. Where you travel is a personal choice but if you go by a plane, tickets will be digital, they will know you travelled on a particular date.
Privacy in my considered view is something that relates to individual identity--your matrimonial information, your sexual preferences, your medical records and your health records and the privacy right of a minor and maybe if you’re not a public servant then your income. These are the privacy rights, and they must be safe guarded.
Q There is a perception that if the intermediary tag is removed, it may even mean more censorship. Also, going by the requests for take-downs, the government appears less accommodating of criticism.
A It is absolutely false. First in these guidelines the government is out, you (companies) have to appoint a grievance officer. The victim of abuse will relate to the social media company not the government. If a woman’s dignity is being robbed, she will ask WhatsApp who started it and if you (companies) do not (help) then the security establishment will help her. The larger narrative however is when you blocked the Twitter accounts of many who invaded the Capitol Hill violence in Washington including that of a former president that’s your call. How is it that when at the Red Fort, in the wake of the farmers’ agitation, content related to terrorist supporters and sword wielding people was pushed out… this is double standard. You show a part of Ladakh as a part of China and we have to labour for a fortnight to get it removed, why? When Singapore protested why is it called the Singaporean variant they removed it immediately, but here in India we have to labour for a week to remove the tags India variant and Modi variant. Earn good money, do good business, but you will have to learn to respect the laws of India. India will not compromise its digital sovereignty.
Individual complaints come and go…
Q Vice president’s Twitter account lost the verification badge as did many RSS leaders. Has the government taken this up?
A: I understand they have already restored it but I will not go into that issue except to make this observation-- Twitter is welcome to do business in India but learn to respect to the constitutional authority.
Q The G7 finance ministers have made an agreement to commit to a global minimum tax of at least 15% corporation tax and measures to make tech giants pay their fair share on a country-by-country basis. What is India’s view on this?
A: That is a larger issue, what is the outcome of that debate we will have to reflect on that. Our data protection laws also yet to be passed by parliament.
Q Will an independent regulator such as the oversight board set up in the US by Facebook work in India?
A: Many of these issues have been addressed in the data protection law. Here the larger regulator issue should not be confused with the rights of the users who are the victims of abuse. My question is very straight, if a person is being victimised on a fake or false narrative should that person go to America? Therefore, we have said have a robust machinery in India.
Q If the safe harbour provision for the intermediary (that protects them from liability for the acts of third parties who use this infrastructure for their own purposes) is withdrawn what is the liable action that can be taken?
A: I don’t want to make any value judgement… the guideline is clear if you don’t obey the guidelines then you lose safe harbour exemption under section 79 of the IT Act. If the intermediary fails to observe rules, they are liable for punishment under the prevailing law including the provisions of the Indian penal code.
Q Twitter recently said it was concerned by recent events regarding its employees in the country and a potential threat to “freedom of expression” for citizens.
A: India is too big a democracy governed by the Constitution (we have) our robust, independent institutions such as the Supreme Court, media et cetera and civilisational heritage of democracy and accommodation. Twitter, an America based private company earning profit should not lecture us on democracy or free speech. If they are so concerned, first establish your concern by giving a forum to your users in India against abuse. The police have already clarified that under the penal law it is a legal obligation of everyone individual or institution to help the police in an investigation. They had asked some of them to appear, they said go to America, they did not take the summons, so the police had gone to serve the summons that’s all. I wish to categorically say that be it Twitter or any social media employees need not have any fear.
Q What is the status of the data protection bill?
A: We are very keen to pursue the data protection law. The select committee headed by Meenakshi Lekhi has already submitted an interim report. In the next session of Parliament, Covid permitting, we will pursue it in right earnest. I am very keen that data protection law must be a fine blend of recognising the element of consent of the owner of the individual data and also India becoming a big centre of data cleaning, data processing. I am very happy a large number of data centres are opening in India including in the private sector. India generates billions of data because of our size and population.
Q How is the government working to address the concerns about a digital divide that comes in the way of vaccination in rural areas or for the urban poor?
A: Just see how many rural people are taking the vaccines. If there’s anything that needs to be done surely, we will support the health ministry. In making digital healthcare possible our ministry gives all the support.
Q Was the government blindsided. Did it miss the red flags about the second wave?
A: I will differ with you for the simple reason that the second wave was not only in India. It was in Japan, Australia, Germany and England and many Southeast Asian countries and parts of America. You should go to see the stress on health care in these places. We have to all work together. WTO data said between March 2020 and March 2021 about 1.25 crore Indians were infected, but in the last 49 days 1.30 crore were infected, see the enormity of the challenge and yet the way we have handled the crisis whether it was oxygen, or the hospital beds all issues are under control.
The opposition first criticised the vaccine policy, at every stage they asked questions. The polio vaccine was being administered only to children, yet it took at least 15 years to make India polio-free. Here you have to vaccinate the whole population practically therefore, if we have a target of doing it by the year end, I think we are moving with great speed. The Prime Minister had warned all chief ministers to pull up their socks.
Q There is a lot of confrontation between the centre and the states particularly West Bengal. The opposition complains their suggestions are met with barbs.
A: Constructive suggestions are very welcome. West Bengal elections were held as per the constitutional requirement. It is a different place altogether, why is it (bickering with the centre) not happening with Kerala. Now you see how vaccines are being wasted in Rajasthan and there is a problem in Punjab. I’m saying let us make it a national issue and the state and Centre both have to work together.