India seeks strict action by Twitter, FB against fake news

New Delhi: Indian officials have held heated discussions with Google, Twitter and Facebook for not proactively removing what they described as fake news on their platforms, sources told Reuters, the government's latest altercation with Big Tech.

The officials, from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B), strongly criticised the companies and said their inaction on fake news was forcing the Indian government to order content takedowns, which in turn drew international criticism that authorities were suppressing free expression, two sources said.

The sources, who were familiar with the proceedings at the virtual meeting on Monday, described the conversation as tense and heated, signalling a new low in ties between American tech giants and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration.

The officials did not issue any ultimatum to the companies at the meeting, the sources said. The government has been tightening tech sector regulations but wants companies to do more on content moderation. The meeting was a follow-up to the I&B ministry's use of "emergency powers" in December and January to order the blocking of 55 channels on Google's YouTube platform, and some Twitter and Facebook accounts.

The government had said the channels were promoting "fake news" or "anti-India" content and that the disinformation was being spread by accounts based in neighbouring Pakistan. The I&B ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the meeting, which was also attended by Indian content-sharing platforms ShareChat and Koo, which have millions of users in the country.

Facebook, now known as Meta, Twitter and ShareChat declined comment.