India’s Information Technology Department today unveiled a new plan of action to combat fake news that would require foreign social media firms like Facebook, Twitter and Google to establish offices in India and actively help in flagging and tracking down people who post troublesome messages online. Ravi Shankar Prasad also said WhatsApp, in particular, has […]
Facebook has emerged as the social media platform that has the highest degree of compliance with Government of India’s blocking requests, while Twitter and Instagram have the least. In all, the government issued blocking requests for 2,205 posts in 2017 and 2018 (up to June), out of which 74% were taken down by the concerned […]
Facebook has refused to block a ‘drinker’s group’ that the Kerala Police had requested to be taken down, according to local media reports. The social network reportedly told the police that the group was not in violation of its guidelines and cannot be taken down without proper justification. The Kerala Excise department is trying to […]
Social media users posting in one of Kerala’s biggest Facebook Groups are facing the prospect of being sent to jail for ‘encouraging alcoholism’ by glamorizing drinking. Given there’s no law against glamorizing drinking, Kerala Excise Department is reported to have directed the police to use other laws — such as those against child abuse and […]
WhatsApp, India’s largest communication platform used by an estimated 65% of the country’s online population, has come under scrutiny for providing a conduit to distribute ‘fake news’ after multiple cases of lynchings came to light. While the company has urged ‘society and companies’ to help tackle the menace, the messaging application has some more to […]
St Agnes College, one of the top destinations for higher education for women in Mangalore, has invited protests by some Muslims for continuing with its ‘no hijab’ policy inside classrooms. The college, run by Sisters of the Apostolic Carmel Congregation, said students have to conform to the college’s dress code that has been in existence […]
People carrying pornographic or other indecent material on their phones can end up getting prison terms of up to three years under a new law proposed by the ministry of women and child development headed by Maneka Gandhi. Under the ‘Indecent Representation of Women Act’, anyone possessing printed content, drawings and films “which contains indecent […]
Faced with severe criticism from the media and the opposition, the Prime Minister’s office has directed the Information & Broadcasting ministry to withdraw the ‘fake news’ directive. The ministry had, last evening, issued a statement that envisaged provisions to punish journalists who reported ‘fake news’. According to the press release issued yesterday, action — including […]
Students of the National Institute of Fashion Technology’s campus in Kannur held a public demonstration and rally to protest what they said were increasing cases of sexual harassment against girl students. Protesters took out a rally through Kannur town to question police inaction over rising cases of attacks on female NIFT students by gangs of […]
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said no case has been registered against reporter Rachna Khaira or The Tribune newspaper in relation to the January 3 story on how Aadhaar details were available for sale at Rs 500. The report had claimed that ‘agents’ were providing Aadhaar verification solutions for as little as Rs […]
The Supreme Court has dismissed the review petitions asking the Supreme Court to reconsider its earlier ruling lifting the ban on the film Padmaavat. “Governments and the people must understand that there is a Censor Board certificate and then a Court order,” said a three-judge bench today. “Better abide by it.” It also criticized state […]
The Supreme Court has lifted the bans imposed by certain state governments like Gujarat and Haryana on the movie Padmavat and said the movie will screen across India next week. The movie is set to release on Jan 25. The court said it was the responsibility of the state governments to keep law and order, […]
Going by indications from the Unique ID Authority of India, Aadhaar numbers could soon be linked to people’s images, allowing the government and corporations to identify people from their photographs and videos. “UIDAI introduces yet another landmark technology for authentication – Face Authentication,” tweeted @ceo_uidai, the official handle of the CEO of UID Authority of […]
Organizers said they were forced to cancel an event against superstitions and miracles in Kerala after members of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political wing of the Popular Front of India, threatened to “level” those behind the event. “They tore our banner and threatened our light & sound provider,” said Suseel Kumar, […]
Joby George of Kerala-based Goodwill Entertainments has offered a ‘lifetime’ job in the UK, Australia, Dubai or India to the person who was arrested by the Kerala police yesterday for cyber-bullying an actress who criticized super star Mammootty. “If u can give u r no or u can come to my home or office till […]
The central government blocked 1,791 urls — websites or pages — and the courts blocked another 2,133 urls in 2016 and 2017, the department of telecom said. This was in addition to around 4,700 child pornography websites that were blocked as part of a CBI investigation. All content blocks on the internet are put in […]
Radio Jockey Sooraj of 98.6 FM, a Malayalam Radio station in Qatar, has announced that he is stepping down from his role at the station following a social media outcry over his comments supporting three Muslim girls who danced publicly at an AIDS awareness function in Kerala. Following the usual style of his Facebook videos, […]
The Supreme Court again refused to stop the movie Padmavati, urging the Central Board of Film Certification to do its job. It rejected a public interest litigation today filed by a Delhi-based lawyer. “We are not going to prejudge the issue,” said the court today. It pointed out that it cannot step into the shoes […]
BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has come out strongly against right wing activists making violent threats against artists involved with the film Padmavati, saying that he could approach the courts if such threats continue. “In a democracy, everyone has the right to protest, but making threats against someone is against the law and cannot be tolerated,” […]
The administration of the Jawaharlal Nehru University has fined its students Rs 6,000 for cooking and eating biryani in the administrative block during an overnight protest in June. The move, however, has taken a political turn as the action follows a campaign by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad — the student wing of the BJP […]
