
Govt Needs to Step in to Curb Rumour-Mongering on Social Media
The QuintBefore it’s too late, the government should step in and initiate some form of regulation for social media platforms: 1) The privacy policy of WhatsApp states: “To improve performance and deliver media messages more effectively, such as many people sharing a popular photo or video, we may retain that content on our services for longer periods of time.” This shows the double standards of WhatsApp; the government should put pressure to provide all such contentious photos and videos as that would ensure effective blocking of rumours. 3) IT cells must be set up which are active 24-hours-a-day and are easily accessible to people through a contact number, e-mail, and other means of communication, so that people may report about a rumour as it emanates. 4) A separate web portal must be set up by the government which should make people aware about the rumours which are trending across social media platforms. 5) Police departments can access the mobile numbers of people residing in any particular area and can form WhatsApp groups according to their jurisdiction areas in which alert messages about such rumours can be spread.
History of this topic

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