Context :
Self
Verification : Musk Echoes Govt of India’s Position / Eco Times /
11 April 2022
Extract :
Billionaire
Elon Musk, the newest member on Twitter board, has suggested that users of the
microblogging platform’s subscription service Twitter Blue be given an authentication mark — a suggestion that echoes the Indian
government’s view of giving social media users an option to verify themselves.
“Everyone who
signs up for Twitter Blue should get an authentication checkmark,” Musk tweeted on Sunday. He followed it
up by saying that it should be different from “public figure” or “official
account “ checkmarks
Musk’s
call for authentication is in line with India’s push for greater accountability
on the internet wherein it mandated all significant social media firms including
Twitter to provide users with
the option to self-verify their identities on these platforms.
“
I’d see his (Musk’s) intent as giving people the verified option quicker, while giving Twitter
some revenue to cover the cost of the capacity they need to ‘verify’ so many in
the queue, but not necessarily to cut down the number of anonymous accounts,”
cyber and tech policy expert Prasanto K Roy told ET.
“I’d
imagine a ‘free speech
absolutist’ would not want to
force users away from anonymous accounts — a key requirement for free speech in
less liberal regimes,” he added.
As
per the government’s intermediary guidelines notified in February last year – Rule 4(7) of the Information Technology
(Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 :
—
users who wish to
verify their accounts voluntarily are expected to be provided with an appropriate mechanism to verify their accounts
and provided with a
demonstrable and visible mark of verification by social media platforms
(including Twitter).
Last
week, Twitter rival Koo claimed it became
the first social media platform to launch a voluntary self-verification
feature wherein users could link their Aadhaar number to their profiles and get a green tick.
The
company said the move would empower users to prove the authenticity of their accounts, which would then
lend credibility to the thoughts and opinions that they share. Voluntary self-verification
promotes visibility of genuine voices, it said.
“Twitter has been very selective with who they
provide a blue tick to and there are many people in India who would want that
mark of authentication, even if it were to come at a price,” Pavan Duggal, a
Supreme Court advocate and cyber expert, told ET.
“And
this is a win-win for the platform because they will be following the mandate
of the government and getting users to pay for the service that they were to
provide for free.”
Such a move, if implemented, would also add credibility, and make
the platform more robust by removing the cloak of anonymity from several users, Duggal said.
Musk suggested a raft of changes to Twitter Blue
in a series of tweets.
“The power of corporations to dictate policy is
greatly enhanced if Twitter depends on advertising money to survive,” he said
in a tweet.
MY
TAKE :
Dear Shri Ashwini Vaishnaji – Shri Rajeev
Chandrasekharji :
Elon Musk is committing to “ Self Verification
“ checkmark in the narrow
context of his own website Twitter .
Obviously he has no authority to speak on behalf of
thousands of other websites
What I have been advocating to our Policy Makers (
through a number of e-mails
sent over the past 3 YEARS ) is an UNIVERSAL MECHANISM of Self Verification,
as explained at :
SARAL-Single Authentic Registration
(for) Anywhere Login[ 10 Feb 2019 ]
Extract :
Advantage ?
#
No filling up / editing, your personal data, again and again, on hundreds
of
web sites. Just ONE site !
# Preventing
web sites to demand – and use – your personal data which they
don’t need
How
will this work ?
# At
birth of a child , parents will submit child’s data ( Name / Birthdate /
Address etc ) on,
www.IndiaDataCustodian.gov.in
Up
to the age of 12 , parents will submit / edit, all data about the
child
From
12 to 18 , data submission / editing will be done jointly with the child
From
18 onwards, child ( who has turned adult ) will maintain data
What
DATA will be submitted on IndiaDataCustodian ?
Data will be
submitted at 10 DATA LEVELS – described in detail at :
Only Answer
: a Statutory Warning [ 10 Nov 2018 ]
How
will other web sites “Access “ these data of a user ?
# All
web sites / mobile apps will enable a user to login by clicking ,
“ Log me with ww.IndiaDataCustodian.gov.in “
# No
user will need to submit any personal data directly on ANY
web site /
mobile app
# Each
user would need to select / specify ( on IndiaDataCustodian ), which
web site ( or type of web site ) can be granted “ access “ to which DATA
LEVEL , for free
# User will also
select / specify which DATA LEVEL can be “ sold “ to what kind
of web sites
# The
“sale Price “ for each DATA LEVEL will be fixed by IndiaDataCustodian
# The
“ for sale “ DATA will NOT
reveal the identity of any user. It will be
always anonymized / aggregated for a few hundred / few thousands
users, based on “demographic profile “ configured by the buyer
web site online ( on IndiaDataCustodian ) and the purchase price paid online
( DBT to each User’s Bank account )
What
about the web sites which do not agree to this arrangement ?
# They
will be STOPPED from operating in India ! It will be “
Quit India “ from
Google downwards and will include Indian web sites as well
# Of
course they may come on board at any time – in which case
IndiaDataCustodian will inform all
the Indian Citizens who have registered
with IndiaDataCustodian
# IndiaDataCustodian will also publish
on its web site , the “ Sale Prices “ for
each DATA LEVEL
What concerns will
SARAL address ?
SARAL will
satisfy the following concerns :
# It
will facilitate early introduction of E-Commerce
Policy , which is hanging
fire due to a
potential conflict with the proposed Data Protection Bill in
respect of nature of sensitive data that must be stored locally
# It
will store on the local server of IndiaDataCustodian , entire “ life history
“ of WHO visited WHICH webSite , WHEN and for HOW LONG , and
did WHAT
# It
will satisfy the National Encryption Policy
# It
will ensure smooth functioning of the Centralized E-Commerce
Regulator / Data
Protection Regulator
# It
will enable TWO FACTOR AUTHENTICATION
# It
will enable India’s Intelligence Agencies to carry out surveillance in
most
transparent manner
# It
will enable the Central and the State Governments to formulate policies /
schemes in respect of subsidies / unemployment allowances / other DBT
schemes
# It
will enable users ( registered on IndiaDataCustodian ) to “ monetize “
their personal / private data by authorizing IndiaDataCustodian to sell the
same ( could be as high as Rs 30,000 per month per user )
# It
will enable Indian and Foreign Corporate to bypass the Social Media web
sites
and , instead use the platform of IndiaDataCustodian , to target their
“ Marketing Campaign “ to millions of Indians.
This will enable IndiaDataCustodian to earn billions of dollars ,
which it can
share with its registered users
RELATED READINGS :
Ø New
rules in the works to curb seller bias in etail search results / ET / 11 April 2022
Extract :
Ø The rules will also restrict ecommerce
companies from sharing
consumers’ buying behaviour with anyone, said
Rohit Kumar Singh,
secretary at the Department of Consumer Affairs. Showing
some chosen sellers
limits the choices for consumers also and is discriminatory
towards them, he
added.
The objective is to make the algorithm democratic
for the consumer, he said.
Ø These rules will be a part of the framework for
Open Network for Digital
Commerce (ONDC) and will apply to all companies engaged in digital
commerce including
Amazon, Flipkart, Google Playstore, Apple Store, cab
aggregators and hotel
aggregators
Ø The proposed framework seeks to control digital monopolies and create
more inclusiveness within the digital commerce ecosystem
Extract :
ALL websites wanting to operate in India must carry on its home page,
following STATUTORY WARNING :
# This web site has entered into
a CONTRACT with India’s Data
Protection
Regulator and has
been allotted
“ Contractor
No : 061139 “
#
A visitor who has registered on
www.IndiaDataCustodian.gov.in , can
get the services of
this web site by just entering on this web site :
Ø Name and User
ID / Password [ selected ]
Ø His REGISTRATION NUMBER at www.IndiaDataCustodian.gov.in
Ø Then clicking on… “ Log me in
with www.IndiaDataCustodian.gov.in
He / She does not need to provide any other personal data
[ For other
clauses of this STATUTORY WARNING, please click link above ]
With Regards,
