Kerala HC issues notice in plea for govt regulations to counter online fake news

The Kerala High Court has issued notice in a petition calling for the introduction of a regulatory mechanism to counter fake news on online platforms including YouTube, Facebook and WhatsApp..Justice Anu Sivaraman issued notice on Monday, in a plea filed by Kerala-based Kalyan Jewellers India Limited (Kalyan)..The broad prayer to counter online fake news has been made while presenting a case against videos and articles alleging that Kalyan Jewellers has been carrying out fraudulent activities..Reference is made to videos posted on YouTube and shared via Facebook and WhatsApp, depicting that fake gold was seized from Kalyan showrooms. As noted in the petition, such content is often accompanied by taglines such as, “Fake gold recovered at Kalyan, Kalyan Jewellers shop sealed and owners arrested, Beware of purchasing from Kalyan, Kalyan King of Fraud etc.“.Terming the same as defamatory and misleading, Kalyan has contended that it has incurred losses running into more than Rs 500 crore as a result. As noted in the petition, Kalyan has already lodged formal complaints with the Kerala Police and the Dubai Police..Consequently, three persons have been arrested from Kerala and one from Dubai. It is also submitted that the Dubai Police has already extracted a confession that the accused had spread the messages intentionally to slander Kalyan. Investigation in these cases is still underway..However, the larger issue made out in the plea concerns the regulation of false and defamatory content circulated online. In its case, Kalyan has submitted that there are several links to defamatory stories and videos which remain online, despite repeated requests made to take them down..To drive home the seriousness of the issue, the petition also highlights recent instances of fake news including articles announcing the death of singer S Janaki, of Pakistan cricketer Imran Khan’s death, as well the spate of mob lynchings which were provoked by false WhatsApp narratives..Reference has also been made to harm caused by the spread of content relating to the Blue Whale Challenge, which had reportedly resulted in deaths across the country..Regardless, the petition notes that very little responsibility is taken by social media/online platforms to counter such content. Specific reference has been made to the following clause in YouTube’s Terms of Service:.“You specifically acknowledge that YouTube shall not be liable for content or the defamatory, offensive, or illegal conduct of any third party and that the risk of harm or damage from the foregoing rests entirely with you.”.In this background, the petition notes,.“How can such a platform which is not having control over their own sites be allowed to function in India?.…It appears The Government of India is not having any control over these sites.“.Kalyan has also referred to countries such as Brazil, Turkey, Germany, Libya, Thailand, Turkmenistan, China, North Korea, Iran and Pakistan, which have blocked YouTube given the unregulated content made available on its website. Alternatively, Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Gulf have filters to block harmful content..To address the issues raised, the petitioner has advocated for introducing a regulatory framework/mechanism to control the uploading of defamatory and demeaning videos to the YouTube/Whatsapp/Facebook in India..Among other prayers, Kalyan has requested that the Court issue directions to the Central government and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to examine the feasibility of bringing such services under a regulatory mechanism..In the interim, it has been prayed that the Court direct YouTube and Facebook to remove all links and videos circulating false, improper and misleading information about Kalyan..The Centre had earlier sought a response from WhatsApp on measures taken by them to counter fake messages circulated on its platform, which were fueling mob lynchings across the country. In a statement issued issued last week, WhatsApp responded that it could not do much, given that it prioritised the privacy of its users..While committing to finding new ways to minimise fake news, a WhatsApp software engineer was quoted as saying,.“We definitely do not want to see fake news on our platform and it’s a complex problem in determining what is fake and what isn’t. Because of the encryption, we can’t read the contents of the messages.“