India has come under fire for censoring some of its most popular television shows and films, and has denied the existence of any official censorship body.
But the Indian government has admitted to “a process of public debate” in which “we are not the world or any other state censor” and has launched a campaign to ensure the content is not censored.
The new campaign comes as part of the country’s “digital detox” campaign, which aims to bring digital technologies into the public sphere to address the countrys digital challenges.
The campaign, launched on Monday, aims to help people identify, report and block content that “threatens or intimidates” them.
The Indian government also announced a series of measures, including banning the use of the “foolproof” social networking site WhatsApp and the “trolls” Facebook and Twitter.
While some media outlets have published articles and articles calling for censorship, the campaign is targeting individuals and groups that are already on social media platforms, rather than specific websites or social media networks, which would make it harder for the government to determine who is spreading propaganda.
The government’s “counter-propaganda” policy is designed to help “stop the spread of propaganda and fake news” and to combat “the spread of misinformation and hate speech”, according to a joint statement issued by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry (I&B) and the Information Technology Ministry.
“We will take every measure to ensure that the public is protected from propaganda, including, but not limited to, blocking websites and social media accounts that are inciting the spread and spread of falsehoods, hate speech and conspiracy theories,” the statement said.
‘Indian government is not in the position to censor’ India is a country where “the public is constantly being challenged and challenged, and in the process, the government is often in a difficult position to enforce laws and regulations”.
The country has been struggling to maintain a functioning legal system and has been facing criticism for its slow implementation of new laws since 2014.
According to a report published in December 2017 by the Indian Foundation for Democracy (IFD), there were over 400 fake news stories published across India in the last year alone, with most of them being in the country.
“A number of the news items in the 2016 report included a false claim that the Indian National Congress Party had won the National Assembly election and was planning to impose the death penalty,” the report said.
“In response, the then Home Minister, Piyush Goyal, had ordered the government’s National Investigative Agency to investigate such reports.
This led to the formation of the Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC), which has since been tasked with investigating fake news reports,” the IFD said.
According to a government website, there are no official rules for “fake news” on the Internet.
In 2017, the I&B had asked the Ministry of Information Technology and Broadcasting to “reinstate the principle of public deliberation”, after the government denied the government had any such power.
This prompted a government review of its rules to ensure they were not being used to “violate civil liberties”, and that it was “not a form of censorship or harassment”.
According the statement, India is also considering the creation of a public awareness committee to “ensure that all citizens are protected and protected from false and misleading news”.
The government also promised to “review the content of any and all internet platforms” to ensure “all platforms have been taken up with a view to providing a safe environment for citizens”.
“The I&T Ministry has also directed the relevant authorities to take appropriate steps to identify and remove content and information that is not conducive to public health and welfare, as well as to take steps to prevent the spread, distribution, and circulation of false and malicious information, or misinformation, that is aimed at harming the well-being and welfare of the general public, particularly to the extent that such content is disseminated through social media and other online platforms,” the joint statement said, adding that it is also “pursuing the issue of the proliferation of fake news in the digital era”.
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