- By Vikas Yadav
- Mon, 16 Oct 2023 02:45 PM (IST)
- Source:IANS
Videos on YouTube, a popular video streaming platform, are viewed across India for a wide range of tasks, such as education, entertainment, news information and more. To ensure that viewers consume authentic news information, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) asked the platform to initiate legal measures against fake news channels.
According to IANS, the government also advised that these channels should be marked with a disclaimer to counter the menace of fake news. The "news not verified" label on "fake news channels" has been proposed by the authorities.
The government also asked social media firms with over five million users to submit a plan within the next 10 days on how they aim to tackle "fake news and unlawful content." This update comes a few days after the ministry dispersed a notice to YouTube to remove child sexual abuse material (CSAM) or face strict punishment.
The government also advised that these fake news channels should be marked with a disclaimer. (Image:Unsplash)
Responding to the update, the company said that it has a "zero-tolerance policy" to CSAM and associated content. A spokesperson from the company told the news outlet any form of content which might endanger minors is unacceptable on the platform.
"We have heavily invested in the technology and teams to fight child sexual abuse and exploitation online and take swift action to remove it as quickly as possible," the spokesperson added. Telegram was also among the recipients of a similar notice from the government.
The encrypted messages app shared that it is "committed" to maintaining its legal and ethical standards when it comes to dealing with issues of "CSAM, Child Pornography, Rape and Gang Rape" content on the internet. The platform added it upholds a "zero tolerance policy" towards unlawful practices of users on Telegram.
On a related note, it was recently reported that the government may send notice to the instant messaging application WhatsApp to reveal the source ID of deepfake content circulating on the app. The concern highlighted by a senior official was fake videos of politicians. You can read more on this here.