Fake news row: Social media won't be allowed to abuse polls, says Prasad

Fake News - At a time when the government is engaged in a row with WhatsApp over tracing of fake messages, Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said spread of radical thought through digital means should be addressed by better regulations as well as international cooperation.

Prasad, speaking at the plenary of the G20 Digital Economy Ministerial meeting in Salata, Argentina, on August 23-24, also said that India has taken serious note of reported data misuse of social media platforms and such tools would never be allowed to abuse the election process for extraneous means.

“Use of the cyber medium to spread radical thought is a challenge that needs to be addressed both domestically by better regulations as well as international cooperation,” he said in a statement.

The minister added that the purity of the democratic process should never be compromised and India would take all required steps to deter and punish those who seek to vitiate this process.
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