Search engine giant Google is not holding back on making its reservations public regarding the setup of a self-regulatory body in India.
The company has no plans to introduce a system that’s designed to hear user complaints in the Southeast Asian nation. However, it’s interesting to note that fellow tech partners Twitter and Facebook see no problem with the decision.
The news was recently published by Reuters which claims to have taken the information from unnamed sources that are familiar with the matter.
In June of this year, we saw India mentioning how it had plans to put forward a government panel that would solely be designed to hear out user complaints. This was in regards to decisions pertaining to content moderation.
Moreover, it also spoke about how open it was to the thoughts of getting on board with a self-regulatory body, provided the industry was willing to cooperate.
But after seeing such a lack of unity and consensus among the leaders of the tech world, we just might see the development of the country’s own panel take center stage. But that is shockingly a plan that both Facebook and Twitter don’t wish to pull through with because it would just end up making government overreach in terms of regulatory powers worse in the country.
Meanwhile, a recent private meeting took place where members from Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc. sat down and discussed their reservations on the issue. One executive informed other employees about how unconvincing the idea was and how so many questions arise linked to the merits involved.
If the body was developed, it would soon be forcing Google to put back content that the firm felt didn’t belong online as they would be the ones carrying out external reviews. And that would be the same case if the content was seen to violate policies outlined by Google as well.
The executive from Alphabet even called out the decision as being a dangerous one as directives would be given by a self-regulatory board.
Other than Google, Twitter, and Facebook, the meeting had reps from Snapchat and ShareChat also take part and express their views. The last two apps are known for having millions of users in the country.
It wasn’t just Google that put up reservations. Both Snap and ShareChat had their own reservations about systems that were self-regulatory, claiming it is an issue that needs plenty of consultation.
Google mentioned through a series of statements how it was going to hold more meetings with government authorities and others in the industry as it was very keen to explore all of its options at hand to gain the best outcome.
The matter definitely needs attention because at the end of the day, having a self-regulatory system for the world of social media is rare. No one wishes to have their content policed by the outside world.
Some exceptions do include the likes of nations such as New Zealand where tech giants signed a contract that limits the amount of hateful content seen online.
Read next: From Now On Google Lens Will Be Used On Google Images On The Web
The company has no plans to introduce a system that’s designed to hear user complaints in the Southeast Asian nation. However, it’s interesting to note that fellow tech partners Twitter and Facebook see no problem with the decision.
The news was recently published by Reuters which claims to have taken the information from unnamed sources that are familiar with the matter.
In June of this year, we saw India mentioning how it had plans to put forward a government panel that would solely be designed to hear out user complaints. This was in regards to decisions pertaining to content moderation.
Moreover, it also spoke about how open it was to the thoughts of getting on board with a self-regulatory body, provided the industry was willing to cooperate.
But after seeing such a lack of unity and consensus among the leaders of the tech world, we just might see the development of the country’s own panel take center stage. But that is shockingly a plan that both Facebook and Twitter don’t wish to pull through with because it would just end up making government overreach in terms of regulatory powers worse in the country.
Meanwhile, a recent private meeting took place where members from Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc. sat down and discussed their reservations on the issue. One executive informed other employees about how unconvincing the idea was and how so many questions arise linked to the merits involved.
If the body was developed, it would soon be forcing Google to put back content that the firm felt didn’t belong online as they would be the ones carrying out external reviews. And that would be the same case if the content was seen to violate policies outlined by Google as well.
The executive from Alphabet even called out the decision as being a dangerous one as directives would be given by a self-regulatory board.
Other than Google, Twitter, and Facebook, the meeting had reps from Snapchat and ShareChat also take part and express their views. The last two apps are known for having millions of users in the country.
It wasn’t just Google that put up reservations. Both Snap and ShareChat had their own reservations about systems that were self-regulatory, claiming it is an issue that needs plenty of consultation.
Google mentioned through a series of statements how it was going to hold more meetings with government authorities and others in the industry as it was very keen to explore all of its options at hand to gain the best outcome.
The matter definitely needs attention because at the end of the day, having a self-regulatory system for the world of social media is rare. No one wishes to have their content policed by the outside world.
Some exceptions do include the likes of nations such as New Zealand where tech giants signed a contract that limits the amount of hateful content seen online.
Read next: From Now On Google Lens Will Be Used On Google Images On The Web