Google, Facebook update website to comply with IT rules

Agencies
May 30, 2021

New Delhi, May 30: Large digital companies like Google and Facebook have begun updating their websites to reflect the appointment of the grievance officers under the new social media rules that came into effect recently.

According to government sources, large social media companies like Google, Facebook and WhatsApp have shared details with the IT Ministry as per the requirement of the new digital rules, but Twitter is still not following the norms.

The new rules require significant social media intermediaries – those with other 50 lakh users – to appoint a grievance officer, nodal officer and a chief compliance officer. These personnel are required to be resident in India.

Industry sources said Facebook and WhatsApp have already shared their compliance report with the Ministry of Electronics and IT, and that the details of the new grievance officers appointed are being updated to replace the existing information on these platforms.

Google’s ‘Contact Us’ page shows details of Joe Grier as a contact person with an address from Mountain View, US. The page also contains details on the grievance redressal mechanism for YouTube.

As per the rules, all intermediaries have to prominently publish on their website, app or both, the name of the grievance officer and his/her contact details as well as the mechanism by which a user or a victim may make a complaint.

The grievance officer will have to acknowledge the complaint within 24 hours and dispose of such complaint within a period of 15 days from the date of its receipt; and receive and acknowledge any order, notice or direction issued by the authorities.

The government sources on Friday had said that Twitter is not following the norms.

Twitter has not sent details of the chief compliance officer to the IT Ministry, and shared details of a lawyer working in a law firm as a nodal contact person and grievance officer, they added.

This when the IT rules clearly require these designated officers of the significant social media platforms to be employees of the company and resident in India, they pointed out.

While Twitter did not respond to email queries on the issue, its website mentions Dharmendra Chatur as the ‘Resident Grievance Officer for India (Interim)’.

Google, Facebook and WhatsApp also did not respond to detailed email queries on the appointment of the personnel as required by the new IT rules.

The sources had earlier said that besides Google, Facebook and WhatsApp, other significant social media intermediaries like Koo, Sharechat, Telegram and LinkedIn too have shared details with the ministry as per the requirement of the IT norms.

Under the new rules, social media companies will have to take down flagged content within 36 hours, and remove within 24 hours content that is flagged for nudity, pornography etc.

The Centre has said the new rules are designed to prevent abuse and misuse of platforms, and offer users a robust forum for grievance redressal.

Non-compliance with the rules would result in these platforms losing the intermediary status that provides them immunity from liabilities over any third-party data hosted by them. In other words, they could be liable for criminal action in case of complaints.

After the new norms came into effect on May 26, the IT Ministry had turned up the heat on significant social media companies, asking them to immediately report compliance and provide details of the three key officials appointed.

The new IT rules also require significant social media intermediaries – providing services primarily in the nature of messaging – to enable identification of the “first originator” of the information that undermines the sovereignty of India, the security of the state, or public order.

The large platforms have to also publish periodic compliance reports every month mentioning the details of complaints received and action taken thereon, and the number of specific communication links or parts of information that the intermediary has removed or disabled access to in pursuance of any proactive monitoring conducted by using automated tools or other reasons. 
 

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News Network
November 22,2023

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Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said his decision to do justice to the disadvantaged communities, by accepting the report of the Socio-Economic and Education Survey, popularly known as the "caste census", is unwavering. His statement is seen as significant as the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes chairperson is expected to submit the report to the state government this month.

"I fully agree with our proud leader Rahul Gandhi's stand. I feel that the country's independence will be meaningful only when the caste census is conducted across the country and based on its report, "equal share for all - equal rights for all" is ensured," Siddaramaiah posted on 'X'.

"My decision to do justice to the disadvantaged communities, by accepting the report of the Economic, Social and Educational Survey conducted by our previous government, is unwavering," he said while commenting on Gandhi's statement regarding conducting caste census at the national level if the Congress forms the government at the Centre.

Raising the caste census pitch, describing it as an 'X-ray' of the country, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday, while addressing an election rally in Udaipur, said the Congress will conduct caste census in Rajasthan if it comes to power and also do so at the national level if it's voted to office at the Centre.

With pressure mounting on his government, from a certain section, to make public the state's socio-economic and educational survey, following Bihar government releasing findings of its caste survey recently, Siddaramaiah had so far been maintaining that a decision will be taken once he receives the report -- which is expected later this month.

The then Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in 2015 had commissioned the social-economic and educational survey, at an estimated cost of Rs 170 crore in the state, the findings of which have not been made public yet.

The state Backward Classes Commission under its then chairperson H Kantharaj was tasked with preparing a caste census report.

However, with strong disapproval from two dominant communities -- Lingayats and Vokkaligas -- the survey report may turn out to be a political hot potato for the government, as it may set the stage for a confrontation, with Dalits and OBCs among others demanding for it to be made public.

Lingayats, led by All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha, which is the apex body of Veerashaiva-Lingayats, have expressed disapproval about the survey calling it unscientific, and demanded conduct of a fresh survey; while Vokkaliga leaders at a meeting, which was also attended by Deputy CM D K Shivakumar and prominent seers from the community recently, passed a resolution urging the government to "reject" the caste census.

On the other hand, federations representing Dalits, tribals and other backward classes (OBC) have demanded that the findings of a caste census, kept under wraps, be made public.

Accusing both the dominant communities of trying to block the caste census from coming out, leaders of the Karnataka State Backward Castes Federation and the Karnataka Marginalised Communities Federation have threatened to hold agitations.

On his part, K Jayaprakash Hegde, the current chairperson of Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes, has already said he would submit the caste census report to the state government in November.

According to some analysts, successive governments have been shying away from releasing it as the findings of the survey are allegedly contrary to the "traditional perception" of the numerical strength of various castes in Karnataka, especially the dominant Lingayats and Vokkaligas, making it a political hot potato.

Political parties in the state have indulged in a blame game for not accepting the survey and not making it public.

Officials have also cited the then member-secretary of the State Commission for Backward Classes not signing the final report, as the technical hurdle that has hindered the release of the report earlier.

They said the caste census report is currently with the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes, and once it submits it, the cabinet would take a call.

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News Network
November 29,2023

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Naseem, Nasir, Firoz, Irshad, Munna, Monu, Wakeel, Rashid, Ankur, Saurabh, Devendra and Jatin. These 12 ‘rat-miners’ from Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh had asked for 36 hours to dig their way to the 41 men stuck inside the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi since November 12. Ultimately, they did the job within 27 hours, leading to triumph for the human spirit in the long tunnel rescue operation.

But there were other heroes too. One was the six-inch pipe that reached the labourers on November 20, bringing them the much-needed communication line and solid food, which improved their morale and did not let the spirits down. The other key factor was that two of the stuck labourers, Gabbar Singh and Shaba Ahmed, took the leadership role inside the tunnel and motivated other workers and ensured that the team-spirit and morale remained high.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Singh and Ahmed during his 15-minute long phone-call to the 41 labourers last night and praised the duo for showing their leadership. “Some university should do a case-study on the leadership showed by you both village men. You motivated your fellow labourers,” the PM said. Singh and Ahmed told Modi how labourers kept themselves busy by hearing songs, doing Yoga and taking long walks inside the tunnel.

Prolonged effort

When the debris collapse in the Silkyara tunnel was reported at 5:30 am on November 12, the Centre had immediately swung into action. The Auger drilling machine was air-lifted to the site and drilling began to get to the labourers. Things were tough till November 20 as only a four-inch pipe was the bridge to the stuck labourers and they had to survive only on dry fruits. But on November 20, a six-inch pipe could reach the labourers in a breakthrough.

This proved to be a lifeline as a communication line could be then established by BSNL with the workers and a camera was sent to get videos of the workers. Solid food was also sent in along with medicines and phone chargers to keep the workers healthy and in high spirits. The workers could use the phone line to speak to the authorities, psychologists deputed at the tunnel as well as their families. This improved the morale of the stuck labourers, authorities said.

This softened the blow that was suffered in the rescue after the Auger machine broke down on November 17. The authorities went by expert advice and the 12 rat-hole miners were called in earlier this week from a Delhi-based firm to carry out manual digging at the site since Monday. The rat-miners had apparently asked for 36 hours to complete the job as two of them manually dug into the debris while the rest of the rat-miners took the debris out of the tunnel.

The rat-miners achieved the breakthrough within 27 hours, ahead of their own target, and finally a welded pipe was inserted last evening to pull the 41 workers out. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) men went in to the bring the workers out of the pipe and the entire process was completed within 45 minutes after the youngest worker came out at 7:50 pm. Ultimately, the ‘whole of government’ approach from the central and state in mission mode, and the rat-hole miners did wonders.

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News Network
November 21,2023

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A 19-year-old woman was hacked to death in broad daylight in Uttar Pradesh's Kaushambi district by two brothers, including the man accused of raping her, police said Tuesday (November 21). Police said the killers - Ashok and Pawan Nishad - had been released on bail a few days before the brutal murder.

Police said the woman - butchered with an axe on the main road as scared villagers watched helplessly - had accused Pawan Nishad of raping her three years ago, when she was a minor. Pawan (and his associates) had been harassing the woman, since then, to get her to drop the case filed against him.

Pawan's brother, Ashok Nishad, is an accused in a separate murder case and was released less than two days before the young woman's murder, police added. Pawan was out of jail by this time and the two plotted to confront the woman's family and force them to close the case, police explained.

However, the young woman refused to back down, after which the brothers ambushed and slaughtered her as she was returning from grazing her family's cattle at a nearby field, police said.

Pawan and Ashok Nishad are now on the run, police added.

"There was a dispute between two parties in the same community regarding an old rivalry and litigation... members of one party killed the girl with a sharp weapon. A police complaint was filed and the accused have been booked," Kaushambi Superintendent of Police, Brijesh Srivastava, said.

The horrific incident took place at the Dherha village. The police have sent the woman's body for a post-mortem examination and have formed teams to arrest the accused, Mr Srivastava added.

The murder has triggered a predictable political row in the BJP-ruled state. The opposition Congress' state office posted a brief video on X (formerly Twitter) showing police covering the woman's body.

"In Kaushambi, two brutes publicly killed a girl by cutting her with an axe. One criminal had come out on bail just two days ago in a murder case. The other was accused of raping the same deceased girl."

"... brutes in UP are so fearless they have no fear of law... no respect. Here, the daughters are so unsafe that if they raise their voice about their stolen honour, they may even have to lose their lives," the opposition party said in its post, ""When will this darkness of the dark city go away?"

The murder has once again focused attention on the UP government's record on preventing crimes against women. And it comes just two months after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath declared 'Yamraj (the Hindu god of death)' would exact retribution against anyone who harassed or harmed women.

The Chief Minister's grand remark came after a teen was killed in UP's Ambedkar Nagar district.

Two men on a motorcycle pulled on her clothes as she was riding a bicycle, causing her to fall and be hit by an oncoming vehicle. Police said she died on the spot.

According to data from the National Crime Records Bureau, UP recorded over 56,000 cases of crimes against women in 2021 - the most of any state. This includes, rape, rape and murder, and acid attacks.

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