Indian officials have held heated discussions with the US Tech giants, Google, Twitter and Facebook for not proactively removing what they described as fake news on their platforms, as per media reports.
Reportedly, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) officials, strongly criticised the tech giants by stating that their inaction on taking down the fake news was forcing the Indian government to order content removals, which in turn is drawing international criticism that authorities were suppressing free expression.
Though the officials did not issue any ultimatum to the companies during the meeting, the conversations were tensed and heated which might lead to a new low in ties between the US Tech giants and administration under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The meeting was follow-up to the I&B ministry using the emergency powers in December and January to order the blocking of 55 channels on Google’s YouTube platform, and some Twitter and Facebook accounts.
