The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) set up to review the data protection bill on Wednesday strongly criticized Twitter representatives for depicting Leh as part of China, saying it amounts to an act of treason. .
According to those who attended the meeting, legal issues regarding data protection were raised and written submissions from Amazon and Twitter will follow. The Committee has also taken into account cases of shadow prohibition, arbitrary account deletion, lack of accountability and transparency regarding policies and data transfers and the location of data centers.
However, the issue of geotagging said that people familiar with the matter became a flash point at the meeting. The controversy came to light last week when a journalist started a live Twitter feed from a monument in Leh and noticed the location read the People’s Republic of China. It also prompted the secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to write to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to express the government’s disapproval of the move.
“Presenting Leh as part of China can be construed as an act of treason and is punishable by up to seven years in prison,” committee chair Meenakshi Lekhi told the Hindustan Times. “The committee was unanimous in pointing out the problem and expressed its severe disapproval.”
Twitter, however, said it quickly resolved the issue. “Our teams quickly resolved the recent geotagging problem. We are committed to openness, transparency around our work and we will stay in regular contact with the government to share timely updates, ”Twitter said in response to HT.
It added that privacy and data protection are at the core of its products.
“We are grateful to the Parliamentary Commission for giving us the opportunity to share our views on the bill on the protection of personal data. Privacy and data protection are at the core of our products and services that are designed to earn the trust of the people who use them, ”said Twitter. “Our goal is to work with governments around the world, including India, to develop a forward-looking regulatory approach that is practical, realistic, feasible to implement, and takes into account the long-term impact on the broader digital ecosystem. protecting the open Internet and universal access. “
The committee was also particularly brutal when it came to accounting. “Both Facebook and Twitter are social media giants, but who is auditing them,” said one member on condition of anonymity. “Where are your data centers located and how information is transferred. All these are arbitrary decisions that are not regulated ”, added the member.
Another member said that compliance with Indian law must be paramount and any company doing business with India must take this into account. “Certain handles are blocked and others are not,” said the member. “Who decides these things.”
According to PTI, Lekhi also said that Twitter was becoming a “law unto itself.” “Shadow prohibition, prohibition policy… there is no clarity about it. Such actions are very subjective … Twitter is becoming a law in itself and in these circumstances, they are violating article 19 of the Constitution on freedom of expression, “he said.
(With contributions from the agency)
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