India has introduced stricter rules for social media platforms to combat AI-generated deepfakes and unlawful synthetic content. Under the amended IT Rules, platforms must remove illegal AI-generated content within three hours of receiving a valid notice from the government or a court. The new framework also mandates clear labeling of AI-generated content, metadata for traceability, and faster grievance redressal for complaints involving impersonation, nudity, and child sexual abuse material.

India Tightens Deepfake Rules: Social Media Platforms Must Remove Illegal AI Content Within 3 Hours

The field of Information Technology is rapidly evolving. However, there's also been an urgent need for laws and regulations to keep pace with the advancements in the digital space. Soon the Indian government plans to bring in new and updated legislation in the field of digital and personal data protection.

Minister of state for IT speaks to WION

Invoking for the first time the recently notified intermediary guidelines and digital media ethics code under the Information and Technology (IT) Act, 20 YouTube channels and two websites were banned by the Indian government for allegedly running ‘anti-India’ propaganda from Pakistan, according to reports.

According to Economic Times (ET) newspaper, which cited sources, Information and Broadcasting (I&amp;B) secretary Apurva Chandra wrote to YouTube and the Department of Telecom, directing them to immediately block the content which impinges the sovereignty and integrity of India.

According to the reports, the contents&nbsp;were “blasphemous” in nature and were being funded by Pakistan’s spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

Watch | Gravitas:&nbsp;India dismantles Pak's fake news network

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-india-dismantles-paks-fake-news-network-438844/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

It was first flagged by the Indian security agencies, following which the I&amp;B ministry conducted an inquiry.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/indian-govt-issues-one-last-notice-to-twitter-to-comply-with-it-rules-389639">Indian govt issues 'one last notice' to Twitter to comply with IT rules</a>

Among the sites that were taken down include ‘Naya Pakistan’, which had over two million subscribers on YouTube. It was reportedly running “false news” on issues such as Kashmir, farmers’ protests against the farm laws and Ayodhya.

Another portal that was banned is ‘Naya Pakistan Group’, which ran over 15 channels on YouTube and had a following of more than a million subscribers.

According to the reports, the channel ran contents like ‘PM Modi concedes defeat in Kashmir; Article 370 restored’, ‘Taliban Army leaves Kabul for India’, ‘Taiyyap Erdogan sends 35,000 mercenaries for Kashmir’, and the ‘Turk Army enters Ayodhya Ram Mandir to Take revenge’— all of which were seen by the ministry as a “concerted effort to sow unrest in India”.&nbsp;

Under section 16 of the IT Rules, the I&amp;B ministry can block content that is considered “necessary or expedient and justifiable to block”.

Officials said the decision to ban and block these channels and websites will be presented before the Inter-Departmental Committee (IDC) within 48 hours, following which it will be ratified by a committee under the IT Rules, 2021, ET reported.

(With inputs from agencies)

Invoking for the first time the recently notified intermediary guidelines and digital media ethics code under the Information and Technology (IT) Act, 20 YouTube channels and two websites were banned by the Indian government for allegedly running ‘anti-India’ propaganda from Pakistan, according to reports.

Invoking for the first time the recently notified intermediary guidelines and digital media ethics code under the Information and Technology (IT) Act, 20 YouTube channels and two websites were banned by the Indian government for allegedly running ‘anti-India’ propaganda from Pakistan, according to reports. According to Economic Times (ET) newspaper, which cited sources, Information and Broadcasting (I&B) secretary Apurva Chandra wrote to YouTube and the Department of Telecom, directing them to immediately block the content which impinges the sovereignty and integrity of India. According to the reports, the contents were “blasphemous” in nature and were being funded by Pakistan’s spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Watch | Gravitas: India dismantles Pak's fake news network It was first flagged by the Indian security agencies, following which the I&B ministry conducted an inquiry. Also read | Indian govt issues 'one last notice' to Twitter to comply with IT rules Among the sites that were taken down include ‘Naya Pakistan’, which had over two million subscribers on YouTube. It was reportedly running “false news” on issues such as Kashmir, farmers’ protests against the farm laws and Ayodhya. Another portal that was banned is ‘Naya Pakistan Group’, which ran over 15 channels on YouTube and had a following of more than a million subscribers. According to the reports, the channel ran contents like ‘PM Modi concedes defeat in Kashmir; Article 370 restored’, ‘Taliban Army leaves Kabul for India’, ‘Taiyyap Erdogan sends 35,000 mercenaries for Kashmir’, and the ‘Turk Army enters Ayodhya Ram Mandir to Take revenge’— all of which were seen by the ministry as a “concerted effort to sow unrest in India”. Under section 16 of the IT Rules, the I&B ministry can block content that is considered “necessary or expedient and justifiable to block”. Officials said the decision to ban and block these channels and websites will be presented before the Inter-Departmental Committee (IDC) within 48 hours, following which it will be ratified by a committee under the IT Rules, 2021, ET reported. (With inputs from agencies)

20 YouTube channels, two websites taken down under IT Act for ‘anti-India’ propaganda: Report

20 YouTube channels and two websites were banned by the Indian government under the Information and Technology (IT) Act for allegedly running ‘anti-India’ propaganda from Pakistan.

20 YouTube channels, two websites taken down for ‘anti-India’ propaganda

No technology is foolproof. Some promise better privacy than others. Signal, Telegram, WhatsApp - &nbsp;they're secure till they're not.

And when they stop being secure, when there's a breach of privacy - who should take the blame?

Is it the Messaging Apps? Is it the companies that sell spyware like NSO? Or the governments of the world which are utterly incompetent and thoroughly uninformed on issues such as these?

Or is it 'we the people' who have failed to understand the seriousness of privacy issues. This a classic whodunit question, but I am afraid that the answers are not straight forward.

On WION Edit, we will try to understand this rather complex issue. Now, commercial spyware abuse is a global problem and there will never be a complete solution.

This is because Spywares can be placed using multiple vectors.&nbsp;It can be a missed call, a video call. And you don't even have to pick the call to be hacked!

So we're all vulnerable. So who will stop this? Many governments across the world are inept to deal with this. But here's the bigger worry - many governments could be active participants in this surveillance game.

Companies like NSO have been exposed. There could be others doing the same. Who do they serve?

These hackers are employed by governments across the world. Let's talk about India, cybersecurity is a serious issue.

We have the laws. Section 43 of the Information Technology Act says that hackers are liable for 3 years in jail and a fine of upto Rs 5 lakh rupees.

Great law, at least on paper. Last we checked, the government is struggling with encryption. The Supreme Court asked them to explain why they needed the help of companies like Facebook to break the codes. This is because the government is asking for the support of platforms to decrypt messages, or to access messages.

The problem is, these platforms themselves have no solutions to privacy threats. It's quite a mess. Regulation on the internet is a tricky issue. It's always privacy vs security.

But it's safe to say that India's position on both is 'primitive' and 'unevolved' which brings us to you and me - the users.

There are too many pitfalls on your smartphone. All the apps on your phone communicate with each other and share data. So even if one of them is compromised, the others are breached.&nbsp;

What about search engines? Google and Chrome have alternatives like &nbsp;- DuckDuckGo or Tor? What you do on the internet leaves a trail, in ways you may not have imagined.

This is the information era, you leave a digital footprint. As with every revolution - the tech revolution - will truly benefit us when we take an active part - both in usage and vigilance.

Look at it, the most popular apps are the most vulnerable and yet we use them because they have the first-mover advantage or more features or speed.

At some point, we have to understand that privacy is a bigger issue than all these attractive 'baits'. So, it is time to think about the open source where one company or app doesn't set the rules.&nbsp; 
 
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL) &nbsp; 
 
&nbsp;

No technology is foolproof. Some promise better privacy than others. Signal, Telegram, WhatsApp - they're secure till they're not. And when they stop being secure, when there's a breach of privacy - who should take the blame?

No technology is foolproof. Some promise better privacy than others. Signal, Telegram, WhatsApp - they're secure till they're not. And when they stop being secure, when there's a breach of privacy - who should take the blame? Is it the Messaging Apps? Is it the companies that sell spyware like NSO? Or the governments of the world which are utterly incompetent and thoroughly uninformed on issues such as these? Or is it 'we the people' who have failed to understand the seriousness of privacy issues. This a classic whodunit question, but I am afraid that the answers are not straight forward. On WION Edit, we will try to understand this rather complex issue. Now, commercial spyware abuse is a global problem and there will never be a complete solution. This is because Spywares can be placed using multiple vectors. It can be a missed call, a video call. And you don't even have to pick the call to be hacked! So we're all vulnerable. So who will stop this? Many governments across the world are inept to deal with this. But here's the bigger worry - many governments could be active participants in this surveillance game. Companies like NSO have been exposed. There could be others doing the same. Who do they serve? These hackers are employed by governments across the world. Let's talk about India, cybersecurity is a serious issue. We have the laws. Section 43 of the Information Technology Act says that hackers are liable for 3 years in jail and a fine of upto Rs 5 lakh rupees. Great law, at least on paper. Last we checked, the government is struggling with encryption. The Supreme Court asked them to explain why they needed the help of companies like Facebook to break the codes. This is because the government is asking for the support of platforms to decrypt messages, or to access messages. The problem is, these platforms themselves have no solutions to privacy threats. It's quite a mess. Regulation on the internet is a tricky issue. It's always privacy vs security. But it's safe to say that India's position on both is 'primitive' and 'unevolved' which brings us to you and me - the users. There are too many pitfalls on your smartphone. All the apps on your phone communicate with each other and share data. So even if one of them is compromised, the others are breached. What about search engines? Google and Chrome have alternatives like - DuckDuckGo or Tor? What you do on the internet leaves a trail, in ways you may not have imagined. This is the information era, you leave a digital footprint. As with every revolution - the tech revolution - will truly benefit us when we take an active part - both in usage and vigilance. Look at it, the most popular apps are the most vulnerable and yet we use them because they have the first-mover advantage or more features or speed. At some point, we have to understand that privacy is a bigger issue than all these attractive 'baits'. So, it is time to think about the open source where one company or app doesn't set the rules. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

WION Edit: Data theft and hacking - what are the solutions

A committee of experts headed by Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) member Akhilesh Ranjan on Monday submitted its report on replacing the Income Tax Act with a new Direct Tax Code.

In November last year, the Finance Ministry had appointed Ranjan, Member (Legislation) at CBDT, as convenor of the task force which included Girish Ahuja (a chartered accountant), Rajiv Memani (Chairman and Regional Managing Partner of EY), Mukesh Patel (practicing tax advocate), Mansi Kedia (Consultant at ICRIER) and G C Srivastava (retired Indian Revenue Service and advocate).

The task force was scheduled to submit its report by May 31 but the then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley gave it a two-month extension.

Later the government allowed the task force to submit its report by August 16 as the new members requested for more time to provide further inputs.

The task force was assigned to draft direct tax laws incorporating international best practices and keeping in mind the economic needs of the country.

A committee of experts headed by Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) member Akhilesh Ranjan on Monday submitted its report on replacing the Income Tax Act with a new Direct Tax Code.

A committee of experts headed by Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) member Akhilesh Ranjan on Monday submitted its report on replacing the Income Tax Act with a new Direct Tax Code. In November last year, the Finance Ministry had appointed Ranjan, Member (Legislation) at CBDT, as convenor of the task force which included Girish Ahuja (a chartered accountant), Rajiv Memani (Chairman and Regional Managing Partner of EY), Mukesh Patel (practicing tax advocate), Mansi Kedia (Consultant at ICRIER) and G C Srivastava (retired Indian Revenue Service and advocate). The task force was scheduled to submit its report by May 31 but the then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley gave it a two-month extension. Later the government allowed the task force to submit its report by August 16 as the new members requested for more time to provide further inputs. The task force was assigned to draft direct tax laws incorporating international best practices and keeping in mind the economic needs of the country.

Committee submits report on replacing I-T Act with Direct Tax Code

Every individual case will continue to require prior approval of Home Ministry or state government and the Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA) has not delegated its powers to any law enforcement or security, the government on Friday clarified on its latest directive that empowers <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/government-empowers-security-intelligence-agencies-for-mass-surveillance-185626">security, intelligence agencies for mass surveillance</a>.&nbsp;

The notification does not confer any new powers and adequate safeguards are provided in the IT Act 2000, the clarification further stated. It stated that similar provisions and procedures already exist in the Telegraph Act along with identical safeguards.

The response from the Government of India came in after it authorized select security and intelligence agencies for purposes of interception, monitoring and decryption of any information generated, transmitted, received or stored in any computer resource.

The agencies empowered by the government in accordance with the Information Technology Act, 2000, include the Intelligence Bureau (IB), Narcotics Control Bureau, Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), National Investigation Agency (NIA), Cabinet Secretariat (R&amp;AW) and Delhi's Commissioner of Police.

The order drew criticism from the opposition parties, which termed it as unconstitutional, undemocratic and an assault on fundamental rights. 
However, the government clarified that the notification is analogous to the authorisation issued under the Telegraph Act. The entire process is also subject to a robust review mechanism as in case of Telegraph Act

This has been done in national security interest. It has been done under the law made by the Manmohan Singh government in 2009. Each case of interception and the decision is to be approved by the Union Home Secretary," Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told ANI.

The direction from the MHA came as a follow up to a 2009 notification, wherein the then UPA government had stated that no person shall carry out the interception, monitoring, or decryption of any information generated, transmitted, received or stored in any computer resource under sub-section (2) of section 69 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, except by an order issued by the competent authority.

The clarification over the December 20 notification is a codification of the standard operating procedures issued by MHA on May 19, 2011, when P Chidambaram was the Home Minister.

Every individual case will continue to require prior approval of Home Ministry or state government and the Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA) has not delegated its powers to any law enforcement or security, the government on Friday clarified on its latest directive that empowers security, intelligence agencies for mass surveillance.

Every individual case will continue to require prior approval of Home Ministry or state government and the Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA) has not delegated its powers to any law enforcement or security, the government on Friday clarified on its latest directive that empowers security, intelligence agencies for mass surveillance. The notification does not confer any new powers and adequate safeguards are provided in the IT Act 2000, the clarification further stated. It stated that similar provisions and procedures already exist in the Telegraph Act along with identical safeguards. The response from the Government of India came in after it authorized select security and intelligence agencies for purposes of interception, monitoring and decryption of any information generated, transmitted, received or stored in any computer resource. The agencies empowered by the government in accordance with the Information Technology Act, 2000, include the Intelligence Bureau (IB), Narcotics Control Bureau, Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), National Investigation Agency (NIA), Cabinet Secretariat (R&AW) and Delhi's Commissioner of Police. The order drew criticism from the opposition parties, which termed it as unconstitutional, undemocratic and an assault on fundamental rights. However, the government clarified that the notification is analogous to the authorisation issued under the Telegraph Act. The entire process is also subject to a robust review mechanism as in case of Telegraph Act This has been done in national security interest. It has been done under the law made by the Manmohan Singh government in 2009. Each case of interception and the decision is to be approved by the Union Home Secretary," Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told ANI. The direction from the MHA came as a follow up to a 2009 notification, wherein the then UPA government had stated that no person shall carry out the interception, monitoring, or decryption of any information generated, transmitted, received or stored in any computer resource under sub-section (2) of section 69 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, except by an order issued by the competent authority. The clarification over the December 20 notification is a codification of the standard operating procedures issued by MHA on May 19, 2011, when P Chidambaram was the Home Minister.

New surveillance akin to Telegraph Act, says government

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India Tightens Deepfake Rules: Social Media Platforms Must Remove Illegal AI Content Within 3 Hours

Minister of state for IT speaks to WION

20 YouTube channels, two websites taken down under IT Act for ‘anti-India’ propaganda: Report

20 YouTube channels, two websites taken down for ‘anti-India’ propaganda

20 YouTube channels, two websites taken down for ‘anti-India’ propaganda

WION Edit: Data theft and hacking - what are the solutions

Committee submits report on replacing I-T Act with Direct Tax Code

New surveillance akin to Telegraph Act, says government