Data Protection: Parliamentary Joint Committee summons Facebook, Twitter

Data protection ensures that your data is safeguarded from unlawful access by unauthorized parties.

data

With the growing infulence of social media in people’s personal lives and preferences, Data privacy and protection are becoming bigger concerns.

A Joint Parliamentary committee of Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, has issued summons to social media leaders Facebook and Twitter as per sources on matters related to data protection and privacy.

Representatives of Facebook are called on Friday before while representatives of Twitter on October 28, as per the notice issued by the Lok Sabha.

Social media giants Facebook and Twitter have been issued summons by a joint committee of Parliament on the issue of protection of data and its privacy, sources said on Thursday.

Summoning officials of Amazon and Google on the same issue is also under active consideration of BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi-led joint committee of Parliament, the sources said.

Also Read: Facebook & BJP Ties: Censorship of dissent and promotion of hate speech

The committee is chaired by BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi. “It would be inappropriate and unfair to look at the calling of social media platform from the political prism. The committee has representatives from across the political spectrum and the deliberations on the bill are being held from the national interest perspective,” she said.

“Whosoever iso required, whether an individual or an entity, will be asked to depose before the panel on the issue of protection of data and its privacy and their respective social media platforms will be thoroughly examined by the panel,” Lekhi told news agency PTI.

On Thursday, the Centre had warned Twitter about its location setting that showed Jammu and Kashmir’s Leh as part of China, saying any disrespect towards the country’s sovereignty and integrity will not be tolerated. Secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Ajay Sawhney asked Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to respect the country’s sensitivities, sources in the ministry said.

In its clarification, the micro-blogging giant stressed that it “respects” the sensitivities around the issue and has launched an internal investigation in the matter.

In an official statement, a Twitter spokesperson said, “We became aware of this technical issue on Sunday, and understand and respect the sensitivities around it. Teams have worked swiftly to investigate and resolve the concerned geotag issue.”

The control over data and its use for surveillance and mood manipulation has caused concerns over data privacy. Data protection ensures that your data is safeguarded from unlawful access by unauthorized parties.

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March 2024
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