Social sites are a major threat to a peaceful society

(Intentionally misinformation or bluffing is done through social media in the absence of strict law).

 

--- Priyanka Saurabh,

Facebook, Twitter, Google, and many other social media platforms have revolutionized the way we communicate. These platforms are mostly used for chatting today, not only this they have a huge impact in public. But it is susceptible to a lack of proper safety rules. That is why people are using these platforms to promote or propagate hate speeches and terrorist organizations have used this as a means of radicalizing youth, spreading the message of hate and violence, instead of using a sharp weapon. . Which affects the internal security of any country. That is why various countries like Germany and the United Kingdom are taking new steps every day to tackle the threat of hate speech on social media platforms.

 

Social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram have also alleged that these platforms have posted abusive and discriminatory articles, posts, and videos against Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar which helped to spread hatred against Rohingya Muslims in the minds of people. is. Hate and discriminatory articles were also posted on Facebook against the apartheid and Black Lives Matter movement in the USA. On this, Facebook has cited the principle of internet neutrality, saying that it is not ready to take action against hate speech or spreading hate speech. That's why today more than 300 multi-national companies have stopped advertising on the world's largest social media platform Facebook.

 

Fake news is a deliberate lie or a half-truth that is broadcast to mislead or harm a section of people. It is a type of yellow journalism in which deliberate misinformation or bluff is done through traditional print, broadcasting news media, or internet-based social media. Hate speech is the incitement of hatred against a particular group of marginalized individuals for their religious beliefs, sexual orientation, gender, and so on. The Law Commission in India in its 267th report on hate speech said that such statements have the potential to incite individuals and society to terrorism, genocide, and ethnic cleansing.

 

Both abusive language and fake news are overlapping areas and are a major threat to the peaceful order of society. On these social sites, it is very difficult to find out who is posting such content. The Indian public is more sensitive than the West due to a low level of education. Indecent language is covered under provisions 6-7 of the IPC in India. Therefore, the Supreme Court directed that the government should act fast in the direction of regulating hate and discriminatory articles, posts, and videos, etc. The Supreme Court abolished Section 66A of the IT Act in March 2015. The Central Government then appointed former Law Secretary and General Secretary of Lok Sabha Shri T.K. Constituted an expert committee under the chairmanship of.

 

 The committee has suggested that certain sections of the IPC, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the IT Act should be amended to provide for stricter punishment for spreading hatred and for using cyberspace to spread hatred and harassment. But legal concerns often come in the way of social media platforms as well, with the availability of accessible Internet facilities complementing freedom of speech and expression. The ban on the use of the Internet is a violation of the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution. And then in many cases, they are unable to make strong decisions as a result of leaning towards protecting their freedom of speech and maintaining online content.

 

Today there is a need for clarity and technical up-gradation to tackle this problem, it is necessary to harmonize various rules and guidelines to prevent misuse of social media platforms and to check the available online content. There is a need to integrate relevant provisions under the Indian Penal Code, the Information Technology Act, and the Criminal Procedure Code. Also, guidelines for information technology should be implemented to deal with hateful and discriminatory articles, posts, and videos that go viral on the Internet.

 

Improving the level of training in equality and non-discrimination between police forces and legal bodies, improving research and encouraging reporting of such material is also extremely important. Raising public awareness on social networks is also very important. There should be a law at the international level which, when requested by the government of a particular nation, takes responsibility to deal with hate speech by removing illegal content within 24 hours. Social media platforms need to take responsibility for ensuring transparency, accountability and a system of rules and guidelines, fees can be set for putting any content, video content on digital platforms, so that the content put by the author But his responsibility can be decided.

A better and more effective approach to limiting the negative effects of social media is to increase media literacy. The government should prepare a policy framework on the Internet messaging platform. The Government of India can partner with local newsgroups to educate citizens on how to identify genuine news from fake news. And on the lines of Germany, if media companies consistently fail to remove illegal content from their sites, heavy fines are imposed. The government should have a mechanism to issue notices against the sites/people/agencies involved in spreading the instant news. Secondly, social media websites should be made accountable for such activities so that it becomes their responsibility to better control the spread of fake news.

 

The government should have a mechanism to issue notices against the sites/people/agencies involved in spreading the instant news. Secondly, social media websites should be made accountable for such activities so that it becomes their responsibility to better control the spread of fake news.

----- Priyanka Saurabh,

Research Scholar in Political Science, University of Delhi,

Poetess, independent journalist and columnist, All India Radio and TV panelist