UN Launches Framework to Combat Online Misinformation
Kartavya Desk Staff
Syllabus: Applications of Ethics/Governance
- •Source: DTE*
Context: The United Nations, led by Secretary-General António Guterres, has introduced the Global Principles for Information Integrity, a framework to tackle misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech online.
Key terms:
Term | Definition | Example
Misinformation | False or inaccurate information is spread without malicious intent. | A person shares an outdated news article about a natural disaster, believing it to be a current event.
Disinformation | Deliberately false information is spread with the intent to deceive or mislead. | A fake news website publishes a fabricated story claiming a political candidate has committed a crime to sway public opinion against them.
Hate Speech | Any speech, gesture, conduct, writing, or display which may incite violence or prejudicial action. | A social media post using derogatory terms to incite hatred against a particular ethnic group or religious community.
Key principles from the UN’s Global Principles for Information Integrity:
• Combating Disinformation and Hate Speech: All stakeholders should avoid using, supporting, or amplifying disinformation and hate speech.
• Promoting Media Freedom: Governments should ensure timely access to information, maintain a free, independent, and plural media landscape, and protect journalists and researchers.
• Enhancing Tech Company Responsibilities: Technology companies should incorporate safety and privacy by design, apply policies consistently across countries and languages, and prioritize crisis response and support information integrity during elections.
• Ethical AI Development: AI developers must ensure AI applications are designed, deployed, and used ethically and safely, upholding human rights.
• Reforming Business Models: Tech companies should explore business models that do not rely on programmatic advertising and prioritize human rights, privacy, and safety. Users should have greater control over their online experiences and personal data.
• Transparency in Advertising: Advertisers should demand transparency in digital advertising processes to ensure their budgets do not fund disinformation or hate and do not undermine human rights.
• Data Transparency and Accountability: Tech companies and AI developers should ensure meaningful transparency, allow researchers access to data while respecting user privacy, commission independent audits, and co-develop accountability frameworks.
• Protecting Children: Special measures should be taken to protect and empower children, with governments providing resources for parents, guardians, and educators.
Initiatives Taken to Combat Misinformation
• Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021: Social media platforms must remove content deemed false by the Press Information Bureau’s fact-check unit.
• IT Act 2008: Section 66 D regulates electronic communication offences. Penalizes individuals who send offensive or fake news messages through communication services or social media.
• Disaster Management Act 2005 and Epidemic Diseases Act 1897: Regulate the circulation of fake news or rumours, especially during emergencies like Covid-19, to prevent public panic.
• Indian Penal Code of 1860: Regulates fake news that causes riots and defamation. Holds individuals accountable for spreading fake news that incites violence or defames someone.
• Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2023has provisions to curb the misuse of individuals’ data on online platforms.
Other measures: Misinformation Combat Alliance (MCA): The Misinformation Combat Alliance (MCA) is a group of 14 digital publishers that have proposed forming a self-regulatory body to provide fact-checking services to social media platforms.
Way Forward: Battling Misinformation in India
India must prioritize verifying information sources, with media organizations regularly fact-checking and raising public awareness. Establishing fact-checking standards based on international best practices, like the IFCN code, is crucial. A robust legislative framework is needed to balance free speech and protect citizens from disinformation. Broad awareness programs should educate society about the laws and harms of fake news. Law enforcement agencies need capacity building to tackle fake content effectively. Digital media regulation should be strengthened, with platforms like Facebook and Google forming an Information Trust Alliance to combat misinformation.
Mains Link:
What do you understand by the concept of “freedom of speech and expression”? Does it cover hate speech also? Why do films in India stand on a slightly different plane from other forms of expression? Discuss. (UPSC 2014)