Google informs Govt of measures taken over platform misuse after asked to follow IT rules

Google officials on Tuesday informed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology headed by Shashi Tharoor that it has removed 9.5 million videos from YouTube and has terminated 2.2 million YouTube channels between month January to March. Social media giants Facebook and Google were summoned by the Parliamentary Panel on the issue of misuse of social media platforms and safeguarding citizens' rights. 

'9.5 million videos and 2.2 million Youtube channels terminated'

Google officials also informed that 95% of these videos were first flagged by machines rather than humans, ANI reported. Of those detected by machines, 27.8% never received a single view and 39% received 1-10 views. Apart from terminating millions of YouTube channels, Google also said that it has removed more than 1 billion comments from YouTube, majority of which were spam and were detected automatically. YouTube, the video-sharing and streaming platform, was bought by Google in October 2006.

Facebook's deposition to the Parliament Panel

Facebook India's public policy director Shivnath Thukral and general counsel Namrata Singh deposed before the panel on Tuesday. Earlier, Facebook representatives had informed the Parliamentary Panel that their company policy does not allow their officials to attend in-person meetings because of their COVID-related protocol. However, panel head Shashi Tharoor had turned down the request as the parliament secretariat does not allow any virtual meetings. Notably, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology has directed Facebook and Google to comply with new IT rules and follow the rules of the country. 

Twitter's deposition to the Parliament Panel

Twitter on June 18 refused to follow India's laws regarding the operation of social media platforms. In response to a question of whether the social media giant follows the laws of the land in India asked by the Parliament Panel, a Twitter representative stated that it follows 'its own policies.'

As per ANI sources, the Parliamentary Standing Committee had asked Twitter India to submit in writing about how it is placed in the global branch and how much executive authority does it have in terms of making important policy decisions. Responding to Twitter's answer, the Parliamentary Panel had clearly stated that the rule of the land is 'supreme' and not the social media firm's policy.

(Image Credits: PTI/Unsplash)