Being anonymous is both a positive and negative attribute of the Internet: Yes, your privacy is intact, and you are safe, but on the other hand, it gives rise to the practice of trolling, which is not good for the Internet.
Govt. has understood the problem, and very soon, you can be
asked to link your social media accounts with anyone Govt. ID and/or your mobile numbers.
asked to link your social media accounts with anyone Govt. ID and/or your mobile numbers.
No, Govt. doesn’t want your private information, but wants some information about you, in case you break the rules of the Internet.
As per incoming reports, Govt. officials are considering a social media identity check program for all users in India.
This is suggestion gets approved, then every social media account of every Indian will have to get linked with atleast one Govt. issued identity and/or mobile number.
Since mobile number can be only issued with a valid ID proof, this can be one of the foolproof ways to keep trolls away, as they will be now aware of the dangers.
Explaining this move, one Govt. official said, we need to maintain the balance between an individual’s need for privacy while ensuring we don’t encourage negative things on the internet.”
How Will This Verification Stop Trolling?
Govt. officials are insisting that the requirement of linking every social media with Govt. issued ID and/or mobile number is not for maintaining their database of users, but to make sure that in case anything goes wrong, they can track and trace the person responsible.
Another official said, “These details needn’t pop up each time with my account, but there should be some way for law enforcement agencies or at least for the platform to verify that I am who I claim to be.”
Govt. officials gave an example of Twitter, on they are verifying every account via various ways. For instance, a mobile number is required for creating a Twitter account, and moreover, they are offering Aadhaar and other Govt. issued ID cards to verify the users.
However, at the same time, only an email account is enough to open a Twitter account sometimes.
This can be implemented, only after Govt. approves this decision, which will only happen after the new Govt is elected.
