“A lot of the people defending WhatsApp in this particular context. It would likely have to eliminate encryption to comply with a law like this. WhatsApp, for example, encrypts all of its messages so the company can’t read them, which makes it impossible for WhatsApp to monitor user posts. Companies that don’t have technology to monitor content would need to build it (though one issue with the proposed Indian rules is that it’s unclear, for now, what the punishment will be for failing to comply). The rules would force tech companies to make technical changes. “We are talking about China-style surveillance here” - Jayshree Bajoria, Human Rights Watch The new rules would be “a sledgehammer to online free speech,” wrote Apar Gupta, the executive director of the Internet Freedom Foundation, an international nonprofit in India. It would be up to Facebook - or Twitter or WhatsApp or YouTube - to determine what content is acceptable and what content is “unlawful” before it’s ever even shared. The new set of rules, first published in late December and still under consideration, would require, among other things, that internet companies proactively screen user posts and messages to ensure that people don’t share anything “unlawful.” It’s an attempt by the Indian government to hold technology companies accountable for the content that appears on their platforms - content that can be misleading, create confusion, and has even led to real-world violence in India.īut the new rules would also create something else: A system where technology companies are suddenly the gatekeepers to what can be shared online. Regulators in India, where both WhatsApp and parent company Facebook have more than 200 million users, are proposing what amounts to a radical change to the country’s internet privacy and liability laws. It’s also suddenly one of the company’s biggest threats.
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