World over citizens are demanding that their Governments take some urgent / concrete steps from all kinds of malicious postings / fake news / hate speeches etc on Social Media web sites such as Google - Facebook - Twitter - Whats App etc

In this matter , USA is most liberal and EU has introduced GDPR to penalize offending online media , holding them accountable for what their users post

At the other extreme, China manages to curb all dissent / opposition to its Govt , by simply telling online media : PUBLISH DISSENT and PERISH

In our own country, government is about to introduce a DATA PROTECTION BILL , - without any clue as to WHO will protect WHOSE data and HOW !

If our Govt is really serious / sincere , persons drafting the bill should read this

Even MPs belonging to Opposition Parties would find some constructive questions to ask in Lok Sabha !

Slow and Steady ? Sure Way to Nowhere !

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Context :

Data protection bill may get Cabinet nod next week

Govt proposes IT Act changes to allow apps, sites to be taken down.

Highlights :

· The government plans to amend the IT law to increase penalty on Apps and Web sites that are unable to control fake news and child pornography . Amendments will include an EXTREME provision of taking down apps and web sites in violation

· The move comes days after senior officials of the IT ministry met representatives from top global social media and internet companies and sought their views on proposed rules that would, among other things, help trace the origin of unlawful content. This is one of the key area of dispute between the government and companies

· The amendments could potentially impact the operations of popular services like WhatsApp , Facebook , Google , Twitter , Telegram . Some of these services have had differences with the government over the issue of tracing the origin of content that is fake, scope of encryption, content deemed interfering with politics and elections, spread of child abuse and revenge porn

· The government had last year carried out an exercise to determine whether blocking web sites and apps was technically feasible if telecom companies and internet service providers were asked to do so. The issue is still being discussed

· He ( Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad ) said the government was looking at regulating the services of foreign internet companies operating in India to make them accountable to Indian Laws and judiciary

· While section 69A of the IT Act gives powers to the government to order blocking of access to information that is detrimental to the sovereignty , security and friendly relations of the state , the government is considering whether there can be a TOTAL CLAMPDOWN on the operations of an app or web site in case of serious violations

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Note these Keywords / Phrases :

· Provision…..web sites in violation

· Seeking their views….

· Tracing the origin of content…

· Whether blocking was technically feasible………

· Looking at regulating the services……….

· Government is considering…….. [ Why is “ begging “ left out ? ]

What kind of “ Content “ is considered “ Undesirable “ ?

· Fake News / Child Pornography

· Content deemed interfering with politics and elections

· Spread of child abuse

· Revenge porn

Which Government Authority will “ deem “ , “ which “ content meets “ what “ criteria ?

Will it be possible to get the web sites to agree to the criteria laid down by government ?

Will government end-up agreeing to the criteria Web sites set up for “Self Regulation” ?

Will we end up with “ It’s my word against your word “ type of situation in court of law ?

How many (thousands) of cases of “ Unlawful Content “ can government fight at a time ?

What do web sites have to say ?

· Tracing the origin of fake content is difficult

But how come, neither the government nor the web sites are talking of the following ? :

· Web sites allowing Apps to collect / hack , PERSONAL DATA of users / friends

· Web sites themselves making tons of money from “ misuse “ of User Data

· Web sites not sharing with their users , profits they make from such User Data

Will amending IT Act help ?

· Amendment by itself, cannot stop “ Fake Accounts “ which remain difficult to trace

· It does not stop those web sites to make tons of money through misuse of data

Any analogy for the proposed amendment ?

· Locking the stable after the horse has bolted !

What should be the right approach ?

· Prevent creation of fake accounts

· Ensure 100 % traceability of each and every activity by the users on every web site

· Immediate “ Digital Death “ ( Capital punishment = non-use of internet itself ) by culprits posting fake news / hate speech / objectionable content

· No need to “ Request / Urge / Ask / Order “ the web sites to install “ automated tools to filter “ the objectionable content ( under new rules of Section 79 of IT Act )

· No need to file court cases if they fail to “ filter “ ( - and wait for years ! )

But what about making those web sites pay for use of Personal Data ?

· For every single use of User Data , ensure that the web site concerned makes a DBT ( Direct Benefit Transfer of a micro-payment ) into the Jan Dhan Account of the concerned user ( I have estimated this at Rs 35,000 per month and urged Shri Arun Jaitleyji to exempt this from Income Tax , treating this as Universal Basic Income )

What is required to “ Prevent the Disease “ ?

· Implement Concept > “ Only Answer : a Statutory Warning “

· By launching portal > www.IndiaDataCustodian.gov.in

· Enabling user to earn > Privacy For Sale

· Where is USA on this ? > Internet Bill of Rights

· Father of Internet agrees > Tim Berners-Lee Speaks

How can this be legitimized ?

· By re-drafting the proposed “ Data Protection Bill “ ( It is still , not late ! )

Will those web sites agree ?

· Don’t try to “ SELL “ this idea to them . Just “ TELL “ them ,

“ Sign up on the dotted lines or QUIT INDIA “

Does this not sound “ draconian “ ?

· It will – to pseudo-liberals and neo-experts debating in air-conditioned TV Studios . 500 million poor people ( covered by Ayushman Bharat Scheme ) will welcome this

Will this stop Citizen Data from being hacked ?

· Currently, citizens’ personal data is lying on thousands of servers of Google – FaceBook – Twitter – Amazon etc . Under my proposal , all Indian Citizens’ PERSONAL DATA will reside only on the server of www.IndiaDataCustodian.gov.in

Hence it will be relatively difficult to pilfer .

Of course , such a concentrated / single repository of entire LIFE HISTORY DATA of a billion Indians makes it a very lucrative target for evil hackers, who have in the past managed to hack into NASA and even PENTAGON servers and more recently pilfered personal data of Angela Merkel and hundreds of EU politicians / celebrities

And to be brutally honest , even my suggestion would protect the misuse of Personal Data of citizens , only for next 5 years or so !

By 2024 , average home will get populated with dozens of Internet Connected devices / items ( vehicles - furniture – fridge – oven – TV – wall clocks – door locks – you name it of IoT ! ) – all of which embedded with hundreds of sensors which will relay / transmit to Device Manufacturers / ISPs / MSPs / Social Media / E Com web sites / Government Agencies etc , every single word you utter / every food that you eat / every medicine that you take , and video of everything you do, on 24x7 basis !

George Orwell’s 1984 will have finally arrived , although 40 years later !

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PERSONAL DATA FLOW PROCESS CHART

ROLES

# Social Media / E Com Web Sites & Apps

· Shall enter into legally binding Contract with IDC

· Shall display a “ Statutory Warning “ on their home-page

· Shall not ask / require users to submit ANY personal data

· Shall not ask users to click, “ I agree to the TERMS & CONDITIONS “

· Shall enable, “ Log me in with www.IndiaDataCustodian.gov.in “

· Shall access “ User permitted personal data “ from IDC , only upon User Login

· May acquire additional / aggregated User Data from IDC by paying online

# Citizes

· Shall submit Personal Data on IDC at 10 ascending levels of details

· Shall select Social Media sites on IDC and grant specific “ Data Level “ access to each

· Specify / select what of his personal data ( level wise / aggregated ) can be sold to any website ( Jan Dhan Bank A/c No and Aadhar No, to be part of personal data )

· Shall not provide any Personal Data to those websites with which IDC has a contract

· Grant to IDC, a special Power of Attorney, to deal with Web sites on his behalf

# IDC ( www.IndiaDataCustodian.gov.in )

· Represent in courts, all Registered Users for their usage / dealings with web sites

· Ensure that web sites can access only that Personal Data which User has selected

· On behalf of users, “ sell “ additional data ( but only anonymized / aggregated ) and issue “ instructions “ to buyer , how much money to deposit in which Jan Dhan A / C

· Do not renew “ Annual User Registration “ unless he fills in “ Site Rating “ online

· Cancel Registration if “ malicious / unlawful “ content posting on any Social Media is traced to him ( - what I earlier described as “ Digital Death = Capital Punishment “ )

· Provide feature for online lodging of complaints against any web site

· Act as a Gate-Keeper / Gateway , between the Web Sites and the Indian Citizens

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