Page 12 - Social Media Apps

Notice issued to social media firms to remove child sex abuse material: MoS

The government has issued notice to social media platforms including Telegram, YouTube and X to remove all child sex abuse material and groups circulating such content, Parliament was informed on Friday. Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar in a written reply to Rajya Sabha said that the social media platforms have been informed that existing rules cast obligations on the intermediaries, including social media firms, to observe due diligence and if they fail to observe such due diligence, they shall no longer be exempt from their liability under law for third-party information hosted by them. "The Government has issued notice to various social media intermediaries including Telegram, YouTube and X, to remove or disable access to all such CSAM and groups circulating such material which is violative of rule 3(1)(d) and rule 4(4) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules, 2021)," Chandrasekhar ...

Meta's Threads brings 'Tags' for organising posts by topics: Know details

Topics do not appear with a hashtag on a published post, instead, they appear in blue text, resembling a hyperlink

Govt talks tough to social media platforms on deepfakes, holds review meet

The government on Tuesday held another round of meeting with social media platforms to "review" progress made by them in tackling deepfake issue, according to sources. Platforms have been clearly told that the 11 "user harms" or "illegalities" flagged under IT rules are in fact also mapped to equivalent provisions in IPC (Indian Penal Code) and hence criminal consequences exist even under the current laws. It is pertinent to mention that on November 24, Minister of State for IT and Electronics Rajeev Chandrasekhar had met with the representatives of social media platforms and the companies were given seven days to act decisively on deepfakes, and align their terms of use as per the IT rules. According to sources, a follow-up meeting was held on Tuesday with social media platforms to assess the progress made after the November 24 meeting. While some platforms have complied, others that been "slow" in doing so, have been given additional time. The government, in Tuesday's meeting, h

Zuckerberg vetoed ban on certain filters despite concerns for kids: Lawsuit

The suit, initially filed in federal court in Oakland last month, added to growing scrutiny of social media giants over how they serve their youngest users

Govt to assist in filing FIRs against social media firms for deepfakes

The government will assist people in filing FIRs against social media platforms in case they are aggrieved by objectionable content like deepfakes that are in violation of IT rules. Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Friday said the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) will develop a platform on which people can notify the ministry about IT rule violations by social media platforms. Speaking to the media after a meeting with the representatives of social media platforms here, the minister also said that social media platforms have been given seven days time to align their terms of use as per the IT rules. Further, Chandrasekhar said it will be acceptable for the government if social media platforms label content as deepfake instead of taking down the content. The ministry will appoint an officer who will deal with implementation of Rule 7 of IT Rules that were notified in October 2022. According to Chandrasekhar, the move will enable people who are aggrie

Meta lets users download Reels from public accounts on Instagram; check how

This feature was made available in the US earlier this year, but has started to roll out globally starting November 23

Centre to meet social media platforms on deepfake issue on Nov 23

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has called a meeting with representatives of social media platforms on the issue of deepfakes on Thursday, according to a source. The move comes amid concerns over misuse of technology and the government's firm resolve to push digital platforms to crack down on deepfakes. According to a source, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw will meet social media platforms on the issue of deepfakes on November 23. Recently, several 'deepfake' videos targeting leading actors went viral, sparking outrage and raising apprehensions over misuse of technology and tools for creating fake content and narratives. On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi cautioned that deepfakes created by artificial intelligence can lead to a big crisis and stoke discontent in society, and urged the media to raise awareness about its misuse and educate people. Vaishnaw has warned that safe harbour immunity clause will not apply if platforms do not take adequate steps to remove deepfakes. The

TikTok Chroming Challenge: Deadly viral challenge caused the death of teens

The deadly social viral trend, the Chroming challenge, is responsible for the death of a 13-year-old girl. Here's all you need to know about the TikTok Challenge

SGPC to take legal action against 'X', says apex gurdwara body chief

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee on Monday said it will take legal action against social media platform X, formerly Twitter, for not shutting down a fake account in the name of the apex gurdwara body that is allegedly being used to spread hate propaganda against Sikhs. A decision to this effect was taken at the executive committee meeting of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). SGPC chief Harjinder Singh Dhami told reporters that, by passing a special resolution, the executive committee condemned the hate propaganda against Sikhs and Sikh organisations on social media. Through this resolution, it has been decided to take legal action against X regarding a "fake/parody" account created in the SGPC's name to unleash hate propaganda, he said. Dhami said the SGPC's image is being tarnished through this fake/parody account and, despite a complaint regarding it, X did not shut it down and even justified it under its policy. Now, legal action will be taken again

Issued notices to all social media platforms: Vaishnaw on deep fake case

On November 6, a modified video of actress Rashmika Mandanna appeared online sparking discussions of digital safety

Musk's X to file 'thermonuclear' lawsuit against media watchdog: Report

Musk on Wednesday endorsed an antisemitic post on X that falsely claimed members of the Jewish community were stoking hatred against white people

Govt to meet social media platforms on deepfake issue: IT minister Vaishnaw

The government will soon meet social media platforms on the deepfake issue, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday, asserting that the safe harbour immunity clause will not apply if platforms do not take adequate steps to remove deepfakes. Vaishnaw told reporters that the government had recently issued a notice to companies on the deepfake issue, and the platforms responded, but added that the firms will have to be more aggressive in taking action on such content. "They are taking steps...but we think that many more steps will have to be taken. And we are very soon going to have a meeting of all the platforms...Maybe in the next 3-4 days, we'll call them for brainstorming on that and make sure that platforms make adequate efforts for preventing it (deepfakes), and cleaning up their system," Vaishnaw told reporters. Asked if big platforms like Meta and Google would be called for the meeting, the minister replied in the affirmative. Vaishnaw also made it clear that the safe ..

WhatsApp rolls-out new Privacy Checkup feature for Android and iOS: Details

'This step-by-step feature guides you through important privacy settings to help you choose the right level of protection, all in one place,' said Meta in a Blog post

Instagram allows sharing posts and Reels with 'close friends': Details

Initially available for Instagram Stories, 'Close Friends' feature expands to feed posts and Reels.

Threads let users delete profile without wiping out linked Instagram

Users have the option to either deactivate their profile temporarily or delete permanently

Nepal bans Chinese app TikTok, cites negative effects on social harmony

The Nepal government on Monday decided to ban the Chinese-owned social network platform Tiktok, citing its negative effects on social harmony. According to government spokesperson and Minister for Communication and Information Technology, Rekha Sharma, Monday's Cabinet meeting decided to prohibit TikTok's use. The decision to ban Tiktok will be implemented through the Ministry of Communication and IT, she said. The Nepal government decided to ban Tiktok due to its negative effects on social harmony, The Kathmandu Post newspaper reported. A Cabinet meeting on Thursday made it mandatory for social media sites such as Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and YouTube, among others, to open their liaison offices in Nepal. Although freedom of expression is a basic right, a large section of society has criticised TikTok for encouraging a tendency of hate speech, the government said. In the past four years, 1,647 cases of cybercrime have been reported on the video-sharing app, the repor

Instagram testing personalised options for responding to Notes: Details

The feature will let users react to Notes using audios, photos and more apart from text responses

Threads rolls-out option to disable suggestions on other platforms: Report

The feature was intended to drive engagement on Threads but has faced criticism from users as Threads posts kept popping up on other users' Instagram and Facebook feeds

Centre issues advisory for social media platforms regarding deepfakes

Deepfakes are videos creating delusion with the use of deep learning, AI, and photoshopping techniques to make images of fake events

54 cases registered for spreading instigative content after blast in Kerala

Kerala Police on Saturday said it has registered 54 cases for spreading communally instigative contents through social media in the aftermath of the recent blasts at a Christian prayer meet near Kalamassery in Kochi. Police said the most number of 26 cases was registered in Malappuram district, followed by 15 in Ernakulam and five cases Thiruvananthapuram. Thrissur City and Kottayam have reported two cases each, while Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Palakkad and Kozhikode Rural have one case each. Police, in a release, said they have identified numerous fake profiles which have been used to share posts that can instigate communal hatred. "Requests have been made to Facebook, Instagram, X, WhatsApp and other social media platforms to identify the IP addresses of such fake profiles. The cyber cell in the state is functioning round the clock to identify such handles," the release said.