India set to censor derogatory Internet material
Source: Agencies |
December 7, 2011, Wednesday
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INDIA'S telecommunications minister said yesterday that Internet giants such as Facebook and Google have ignored his demands to screen derogatory material, so the government would have to act on its own.
Government officials are upset about web pages insulting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, ruling Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi and major religious figures.
Kapil Sibal said he had spoken with major Internet companies over the past three months and asked them to come up with a voluntary framework to screen offensive material.
"This is a matter of great concern to us. We have to take care of the sensibility of our people," he said.
In a meeting on Monday, the Internet companies told him there was nothing they could do, Sibal said, so the government would formulate a policy on its own. He declined to specify what that would be.
"We are seeking their cooperation, and if somebody is not willing to cooperate on incendiary material like this, it is the duty of government to think of steps that we need to take," he said. "We don't want to interfere in freedom of the press, but this material should not be allowed."
Indian media reports said that during Monday's meeting, Sibal told officials from Google, Facebook, Yahoo and Microsoft about posts that were insulting to Singh, Gandhi and religious leaders.
Facebook said in a statement yesterday that it would remove content that is "hateful, threatening, incites violence or contains nudity."
"We recognize the government's interest in minimizing the amount of abusive content available online and will continue to engage with the Indian authorities as they debate this important issue," Facebook said.
Google said it removes content that violates local law and its standards.
"But when content is legal and doesn't violate our policies, we won't remove it just because it's controversial, as we believe that people's differing views, so long as they're legal, should be respected and protected," Google said.
Before his news conference yesterday, Sibal showed reporters web illustrations showing Singh and Gandhi in compromising positions as well as a site showing pigs running through Islam's holy city of Mecca, a clear insult to Muslims.
"I believe no reasonable person aware of the sensibilities of large sections of communities in this country would wish to see this content in the public domain," he said.
Rajesh Chharia, president of the Internet Service Providers Association of India, said Internet companies need to be mindful of concerns over national security and national sensitivities.
"I am not favoring censorship - self-regulation is the best censorship available to our system," he said.
Government officials are upset about web pages insulting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, ruling Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi and major religious figures.
Kapil Sibal said he had spoken with major Internet companies over the past three months and asked them to come up with a voluntary framework to screen offensive material.
"This is a matter of great concern to us. We have to take care of the sensibility of our people," he said.
In a meeting on Monday, the Internet companies told him there was nothing they could do, Sibal said, so the government would formulate a policy on its own. He declined to specify what that would be.
"We are seeking their cooperation, and if somebody is not willing to cooperate on incendiary material like this, it is the duty of government to think of steps that we need to take," he said. "We don't want to interfere in freedom of the press, but this material should not be allowed."
Indian media reports said that during Monday's meeting, Sibal told officials from Google, Facebook, Yahoo and Microsoft about posts that were insulting to Singh, Gandhi and religious leaders.
Facebook said in a statement yesterday that it would remove content that is "hateful, threatening, incites violence or contains nudity."
"We recognize the government's interest in minimizing the amount of abusive content available online and will continue to engage with the Indian authorities as they debate this important issue," Facebook said.
Google said it removes content that violates local law and its standards.
"But when content is legal and doesn't violate our policies, we won't remove it just because it's controversial, as we believe that people's differing views, so long as they're legal, should be respected and protected," Google said.
Before his news conference yesterday, Sibal showed reporters web illustrations showing Singh and Gandhi in compromising positions as well as a site showing pigs running through Islam's holy city of Mecca, a clear insult to Muslims.
"I believe no reasonable person aware of the sensibilities of large sections of communities in this country would wish to see this content in the public domain," he said.
Rajesh Chharia, president of the Internet Service Providers Association of India, said Internet companies need to be mindful of concerns over national security and national sensitivities.
"I am not favoring censorship - self-regulation is the best censorship available to our system," he said.
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