Dr.K.Krishnasamy, the Founder and President of the Puthiya Tamilagam Party and a former MLA of the Tamil Nadu Assembly, has written a letter addressed to Union Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad, requesting a reasonable restriction on social media.
In his letter, Dr. Krishnasamy stated that his party supports the central government’s decision to frame appropriate guidelines for the operation of social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Whatsapp, which have become an integral part of our lives.
While explaining the benefits of social media, such as sharing information quickly and widely, bringing any crime to public attention, and others, Dr. Krishnasamy also criticizes social media for its role in virally spreading fake news, causing harm to many citizens and innocents who are unable to respond quickly to issue counter statements.
His letter reads,” In the fast-growing countries like India, the government and private entities mostly rely on the Information technology when everyone has to accept the beneficiaries’ effects of Social Media for sharing the information in a fast and biggest way. Even there are so many crimes so far unnoticed or do not have access to rely on pictures in an ordinary simple mobile camera. A child, a woman, or any human being can be photographed in an aforesaid manner and shared by social media virally. Therefore, the atrocities or crime committed on anybody is brought opening to the public view and sometimes it can also be taken as evidence. In the same manner, many times fabricated false news are sent virally. This do harm to many citizens and many innocents who cannot respond immediately to issue the counter statements.”
He claims that social media, which has done more harm than good to society, lacks a method to thoroughly weed out fake IDs and is unwilling to disclose the source of first information details with the government. He questioned why these social media giants have absolute freedom of expression when the Indian constitution allows for qualified freedom of speech that may be curtailed if it affects the public order and harmony of the country.
He emphasized the importance of social media restrictions, particularly in a nation like India, where people of many ethnicities, languages, and cultures coexist and commended steps taken by the government.
He added,” To summarise, I request the Central government, Ministry of Information Technology and Ministry of Defence to join to adopt strict measures to regulate the functioning of the social medias both internal and external threats.”
He made several helpful suggestions to the government, including linking social media accounts to AADHAR numbers or other government documentation, verifying addresses given, taxing the profit of social media companies for its operation in India, regulating end-to-end encryption and establishing grievance officers at the district, state, and national levels.
Dr. Krishnasamy concluded his letter saying,” Therefore, the government should speed up the actions to take necessary steps to lay down rules and regulations for social media groups to impose strict conditions to uphold the real freedom of Indian citizens and not to allow these social media groups to destabilize the existing social, economic and political equilibrium in the country.”
Full text of his letter: “At the outset, I welcome the decision of the Central government to frame appropriate guidelines for functioning of social Medias in our country. In this Information Technology era social media s like Websites, Internet, Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter etc. eventually becomes a part and parcel of our lives.
In the fast growing countries like India, the government and private entities mostly rely on the Information technology when everyone has to accept the beneficiaries’ effects of Social Medias for sharing the information in a fast and biggest way. Even there are so many crimes so far unnoticed or do not have access to rely pictures in an ordinary simple mobile camera. A child, a woman or any human being can be photographed in the aforesaid manner and shared by social media virally. Therefore, the atrocities or crime committed on anybody is brought opening to the public view and sometimes it can also be taken as evidences. In the same manner many times fabricated false news are sent virally. This do harm to many citizens and many innocents who cannot respond immediately to issue the counter statements.
Overall, so far, the social medias have done more harm than good. Most of the Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter account holders do not have their own verifiable ID’s. They clandestinely operate under various ID’s though social media like Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter accounts operate quite a number of years in India; it is very painful to hear that they are not ready to share the source of first information details even to government.
In the name of free speech, they claimed to use this tool. The fundamental right to freedom of speech, writing, expression are not absolute. The Constitution have imposed reasonable restrictions on those rights if they affect the public order and harmony of the country. By this when 130 crore people can enjoy the restricted freedom, how foreign companies like Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter can be allowed to function in the Indian soil without any accountability to the country.
Even though it is quite late, the steps taken by the Government of India for laying important conditions for the social media to function in India is commendable. Nearby nations like China, North Korea and even in Russia, these social media cannot function without any obstacles. India is a multi ethnic, multi linguistic and multi culture people living country. Already India has so many internal and external threats in various forms. So I welcome the proposal formalized by the Ministry of Information Technology to bring some important guidelines for its registration and revealing the first information details to be shared with the Indian Government. I very much appreciate the government’s firm steps in this regard.
To summarise, I request the Central government, Ministry of Information Technology and Ministry of Defence to join to adopt strict measures to regulate the functioning of the social Medias both internal and external threats.
All the Facebook, WhatsApp, twitter account holder’s actual address must be ascertained. The social media account holders details must be linked with Aadhar number and other Government document number like driving license etc. Region, District, State and National level grievances officers must be posted for the social media group, to address the grievances of the social media users. At large scale abuses are happening through WhatsApp by investing crores of money by caste, religious and political groups. End-to-End encryption rights should be regulated.
Similarly, the Government should take steps to levy taxes including GST on social media networking companies that have been making billions in profits in India for years. There must be a grievances cell at district level to address the misuse of social media platforms by individuals or groups. The complaints raised by the victims have to be coordinated by the local investigating officers appointed for that purpose.
Therefore, the government should speed up the actions to take necessary steps to lay down rules and regulations for social media groups to impose strict conditions to uphold the real freedom of Indian citizens and not to allow these social media groups to destabilize the existing social, economic and political equilibrium in the country.”
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