Parl panel tells Facebook, Google, they must follow new IT rules

New Delhi: Facebook and Google representatives Tuesday deposed before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology over the issue of social media misuse and safeguarding citizens' rights, 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 here.

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

While Facebook's country public policy director Shivnath Thukral and general counsel Namrata Singh appeared before the panel on behalf of the company, search engine 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 that Tharoor expressed concern about the privacy of women users of social media platforms. He said he has also received complaints from several women MPs in this regard.

Later, Google said in a statement that it has consistently invested in product changes, resources and personnel as part of its efforts to keep users safe in compliance with the local laws in India.

"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," a Google spokesperson said.

The spokesperson further stated: "We have consistently invested in significant product changes, resources and personnel, and have made significant progress in balancing the openness of our platforms with the responsibility of keeping the community safe in compliance with the local laws in the country."

Comments from Facebook were not immediately available.

Tharoor also expressed displeasure over some members of panel being quoted in the media to report about the proceedings, with sources saying the MPs present in the meeting agreed the confidentiality clause should be adhered to.

Sources also said that the panel has asked Twitter to explain within 48 hours why it had blocked access of Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor to their accounts.