Union Communications and IT Minister Kapil Sibal Tuesday said the government would not allow objectionable content on social networks like Facebook and Google, which hurts the feelings of the Indians. He said that even though the government was not in favor of censorship, it would not allow such offensive content on social networks, that hurts our religious feelings.
The dispute highlights India's persistent difficulties in balancing the internet culture of freewheeling discourse with its home-grown religious and political sensitivity. Officials are wary of sites that are offensive to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's ruling Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi and great religious figures.
The decision was transported during a meeting of Communications and IT Minister Kapil Sibal held here on Monday with Indian representatives from sites like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Microsoft.
"Religious feelings of many societies and all sensible people have been injured because of the content on these sites," Sibal told reporters here Tuesday that explain what the government deemed "offensive" content.
"This is a matter of great concern to us. We must take care of the sensitivity of our people," he said.
"We seek their cooperation, and if someone is not willing to cooperate in four bombings material like this, it is the duty of government to think about the steps we must take," he said. "We do not want to interfere with press freedom, but this type of material should not be permitted."
Indian media reports said that during the meeting on Monday Sibal specifically told officials from Google, Facebook, Yahoo and Microsoft on the post that was an insult to Singh, Gandhi and religious leaders.
Facebook said in a statement Tuesday it would remove the content "is hateful, threatening, incites violence or contains nudity."
"We recognize the government's interest to minimize the amount of objectionable content that is available online and will continue to engage with Indian authorities as they discuss this important issue," the company said.
Spokespersons from Google and Microsoft declined to comment on the meeting. A person familiar with the meeting to The Associated Press that the demand was triggered by a Facebook page about Sonia Gandhi. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations.
Representatives of these sites indicated that there was both a question of what is tantamount to "offensive" and the logistical nightmare of screening every piece of content that is posted on websites. They, however, said they had control.
"We will remove content that violates our Terms, which are designed to keep material that is hateful, threatening, incite violence or contains nudity out of service," said Facebook in a statement Tuesday.
Rajesh Chharia, president of Internet Service Providers Association of India said that Internet companies should be aware of concerns about national security and national causes.
"I will not favor censorship, self-censorship is the best available for our system," he said. "We must do something that would harm peace in the country.''
India has had conflicts with technology companies in recent years, access to information, and Sibal said Tuesday that many of the companies have been reluctant to release data, the government has asked for terrorists.
Last year, India threatened to ban the popular corporate e-mail and messenger services on BlackBerry devices in the middle safety concerns over access to encrypted information. The government later backed down.
Company representatives are believed to have told Sibal his claim was impossible given the volume of user-generated content from India, and that they can not be responsible for what is and is not libelous or defamatory. They also said that the demand can be made only if there was a clear law.
The dispute highlights India's persistent difficulties in balancing the internet culture of freewheeling discourse with its home-grown religious and political sensitivity. Officials are wary of sites that are offensive to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's ruling Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi and great religious figures.
The decision was transported during a meeting of Communications and IT Minister Kapil Sibal held here on Monday with Indian representatives from sites like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Microsoft.
"Religious feelings of many societies and all sensible people have been injured because of the content on these sites," Sibal told reporters here Tuesday that explain what the government deemed "offensive" content.
"This is a matter of great concern to us. We must take care of the sensitivity of our people," he said.
"We seek their cooperation, and if someone is not willing to cooperate in four bombings material like this, it is the duty of government to think about the steps we must take," he said. "We do not want to interfere with press freedom, but this type of material should not be permitted."
Indian media reports said that during the meeting on Monday Sibal specifically told officials from Google, Facebook, Yahoo and Microsoft on the post that was an insult to Singh, Gandhi and religious leaders.
Facebook said in a statement Tuesday it would remove the content "is hateful, threatening, incites violence or contains nudity."
"We recognize the government's interest to minimize the amount of objectionable content that is available online and will continue to engage with Indian authorities as they discuss this important issue," the company said.
Spokespersons from Google and Microsoft declined to comment on the meeting. A person familiar with the meeting to The Associated Press that the demand was triggered by a Facebook page about Sonia Gandhi. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations.
Representatives of these sites indicated that there was both a question of what is tantamount to "offensive" and the logistical nightmare of screening every piece of content that is posted on websites. They, however, said they had control.
"We will remove content that violates our Terms, which are designed to keep material that is hateful, threatening, incite violence or contains nudity out of service," said Facebook in a statement Tuesday.
Rajesh Chharia, president of Internet Service Providers Association of India said that Internet companies should be aware of concerns about national security and national causes.
"I will not favor censorship, self-censorship is the best available for our system," he said. "We must do something that would harm peace in the country.''
India has had conflicts with technology companies in recent years, access to information, and Sibal said Tuesday that many of the companies have been reluctant to release data, the government has asked for terrorists.
Last year, India threatened to ban the popular corporate e-mail and messenger services on BlackBerry devices in the middle safety concerns over access to encrypted information. The government later backed down.
Company representatives are believed to have told Sibal his claim was impossible given the volume of user-generated content from India, and that they can not be responsible for what is and is not libelous or defamatory. They also said that the demand can be made only if there was a clear law.
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