Fake News: WhatsApp CEO On India Visit This Week, May Meet IT Ministry
This comes in the backdrop of the company’s attempts to address concerns around fake news on its platform, including mob-lynching.
WhatsApp Chief Executive Officer Chris Daniels is visiting India this week and is likely to meet Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad as the company attempts to address concerns around fake news on its messaging platform which have led to horrific crimes like mob-lynching.
Daniels, according to sources, will be in India for four-five days, starting tomorrow, and meet business and government officials during his visit. He is also likely to meet Prasad tomorrow, although this could not be independently confirmed with the company.
Emails sent to WhatsApp did not elicit any response.
One of the persons aware of the proposed visit said that WhatsApp officials plan to discuss measures being undertaken to counter the issue of fake news on its platform as well as the impending launch of its payments services in the country.
Government officials—who confirmed that a meeting has indeed been sought—said the ministry, on its part, will reiterate its demand of WhatsApp establishing a set up in India and also addressing the issue of traceability of messages.
Last month, WhatsApp top executives, including Chief Operating Officer Matthew Idema had met IT Secretary Ajay P Sawhney and other Indian government officials to outline steps being taken by the company to tackle fake news in India.
Over the past few months, fake messages circulating on WhatsApp have incited incidents of mob fury across parts of India. The government has sent out two notices to the Facebook-owned company directing it to take urgent measures to curb false information and rumours being spread on the messaging platform.
The IT ministry has, in the past, said that the platform cannot escape its responsibility for such rampant abuse and needed to find originators of provocative messages. It had also warned that in the absence of adequate checks, it will treat the messaging platform as abettor of rumour propagation and legal consequences will follow.
In its response, WhatsApp has informed the government that it is building a local team, including India head, as part of steps to check fake news circulation even as it did not meet the key demand of identifying message originators.
Apart from education and advocacy programmes, WhatsApp has also introduced new features to let its users identify forwarded messages, restricted number of forwards at a time, and brought out full-page ads giving “easy tips” to spot fake news.