India tells Twitter to obey its laws — or make wielding them easier India has again expressed severe displeasure with Twitter, following three different incidents embroiling the micro-blogging service in a complex debate about sovereignty and censorship and possibly making the company liable for its users’ posts. The core of the ongoing dispute is India’s Information Technology (Intermediary …
Govt wants Twitter to dance to its Kumbaya. Democracy is vibrant not because of the people who lay rules but also because of the people who question it. Anyone who reads "Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code" will understand how vague it is and there is no surprise that Twitter couldn't find anyone in India to be the Nodal Officer. Anyone who gets that post will be slaughtered on day one.
Regulators need to be cautious of what tech tweaks they ask for. These tweaks can make or break a democracy.
For me, I have not used Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, but I am worried about Reddit, Signal. It would be interesting to see how Govt deals with them.
How can democracy really exist when in the rich and powerful can be elected ?
The UK 2.5 party system is a demonstration in a system that no longer represents its people.
No party elected in the UK has ever had a majority of 50%+ of the electorate.
They get by on 60% turn out resulting in governments voted in by 33% of the population.
India is the same I believe, right family right connections
You can't _necessarily_ blame low turn out on those that eventually get elected. Much of a low turnout is apathy.
Thing about politics is that most people don't want to do it. Provided there is pan y circo.
Representative Democracy is far from perfect but it is the best option we have to peacefully eject those that take the piss.
If you present a better alternative the world is probably up for it.
Societies often prefer "benevolent dictator for life" to democracy. Dictators are two a penny, benevolent ones are harder to find.
Wait a minute, you're not quoting the correct numbers...
> 60% turn out resulting in governments voted in by 33%
Turnout in 2019 was 67.5% and the winners' share of the popular vote was 43.6% that makes about 29% of electorate supporting BoJo & cronies. To give them some credit, 43.6 was some sort of a record and usually this is even worse.
My point is that because of "first past the post" and various gerrimandering efforts, it's not a majority that chooses the big cheeses.
The EU has adopted the same rules (TERREG) and I think these will be implemented within a year (need for a company censorship officer in the EU and 1hr SLA for content removal)
So it will be interesting to watch how those giants will play the ball.
It's not like Twitter suddenly started embracing the freedom of speech.
Twitter does not have to embrace freedom of speech - it is a private company. You have to conform to Twitter's terms of service which does not meant a free for all.
Governments that should ensure freedom of speech by allowing people to criticise and discuss without harassment. India's government is blatantly failing this test.
Content removal is very different from identifying who the first originator of that content is.
Content removal is already done today by Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and there is a process in place. It can be argued whether or not that process is correct or not.
The problem with identifying who the first originator of the content leads to other problems. Primarily, the govt or any other agency can go after that originator.
The US government has been sued for using Twitter and other tech companies to suppress speech
https://newsbinding.com/news/lawsuit-california-government-colluded-with-twitter-on-censorship/amp/
We regularly accuse (rightfully) Chinese companies of being state sponsored, but fail to see this with US big tech. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, is the modern tool for foreign interference. India has a right to make sure these countries/multinationals don’t interfere. TikTok has already got a hold in the west, but is banned in India.
Said modern tool is more down to the ignorance and stupidity of a portion of the US population than any particular platform.
The damage Fox News is doing on a daily basis greatly outpaces anything any foreign influence could possibly hope to attain.
The USA needs to pour a lot more money into educating its huddled masses, but I'm sure Republicans will do their best to keep that from happening. They need the stupid to stay in power.
I take it that Twitter does not currently have any employees in India that the government of India could put in jail, otherwise it would not be resisting the government's directives. I'm not surprised that Twitter would not wish to change that under current circumstances.
Of course India can always block Twitter, but for Twitter not wishing to aid and abet the destruction of democracy in India by the BJP, which is an extremist Hindu nationalist party, is entirely reasonable.
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