WhatsApp must take accountability: Govt
New Delhi: The government on Wednesday termed as "unacceptable" any misuse of WhatsApp to spread fake messages designed to "provoke" and "instigate" people and said finding technological solutions to detect such content cannot be "rocket science" for digital giants who reap benefits from the Indian market.
A day after the government shot off a notice to WhatsApp over a spate of lynching incidents purportedly triggered by provocative messages circulating on the platform, IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday made it clear that WhatsApp - being the creator of the messaging platform - cannot absolve itself of its responsibility and accountability.
Rumours on WhatsApp have triggered a spate of incidents involving mob fury, the latest being lynching of five men on suspicion of being child lifters in Maharashtra's Rainpada village of Dhule district. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology wrote to WhatsApp asking it to take urgent steps to prevent the circulation of false information and provocative content.
Prasad said the government had taken note of the prompt response of WhatsApp (to its notice) listing out the measures to deal with the issue, but added that the tech giant needs to follow it up with concrete action on the ground.
The US-based social media platform in its response to IT Ministry's notice has said fake news, misinformation and hoaxes can be checked by the government, civil society and technology companies working together.
Outlining steps, it has taken to curb abuse of its platform, WhatsApp -- in the response to the IT Ministry -- said it could prevent spam, but since it cannot see the content of private messages, blocking can be done only based on user reports.
Whatsapp also said it is "horrified by these terrible acts of violence" and its strategy to deal with the situation involves giving people the controls and information they need to stay safe while working proactively to prevent misuse of the service.
Prasad asserted that safety of Indians is "paramount" and the government is well aware of its "powers" to tackle any abuse.
