NEW DELHI: The Centre has started working in tandem with YouTube, the global online video-sharing platform, to find out a permanent solution to block channels spreading fake news and broadcasting misleading content detrimental to communal harmony, having the potential of fomenting public order
and posing threat to India’s foreign relations.
According to senior officials, the government is looking for a way out based on artificial intelligence mechanisms to curb the menace. The information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry, about two weeks ago, blocked at least eight digital channels endorsing pro-khalistani sentiments.
The ministry has been holding dialogue with YouTube to work upon to develop a system and its vice president recently met the ministry officials. “Dialogue has already been initiated with the social media platform. The blocking of channels should be automatically through an artificial intelligence mechanism because manual monitoring is cumbersome. Millions of videos are on the platform. How can we see them? It has to be through technology,” said officials.
The ministry, on occasion, has been issuing directions to popular social media intermediaries including Twitter and Facebook to block content and digital channels airing against the anti-India agenda. The crackdown by the government began in December 2021 when the ministry issued directions for blocking 20 YouTube Channels and two websites, operating from Pakistan under the provisions of IT rules for the first time.
Officials, privy to the meeting, said that YouTube is taking the issue ‘seriously’ and compliance is ‘much better’.“The issue is language. Majority of content in India under scrutiny is in Hindi and regional languages rather than English. Their capability is limited in terms of Hindi. We have regular dialogue with them. But it is clear that they are serious and I would say that compliance is better.
Now, it takes 48 hours to block the content after the order earlier it would take a month,” said officials. The ministry is also deliberating solutions that any content once blocked shouldn’t appear on other platforms in different forms.