Five dead as blaze guts two Lucknow hotels, owners booked
Lucknow, June 19: Five persons, including a woman and child, were killed and over a dozen others injured as fire engulfed two hotels here on Tuesday, police said.
The fire broke out at the SSJ International Hotel on Tuesday morning and soon spread to the adjacent Hotel Virat International, gutting both buildings.
Fire tenders were rushed to contain the blaze, but it took more than two hours for the raging flames to be extinguished and at least six firemen were among those injured. Two cars parked in the parking area of one of the hotels were also burnt badly.
Senior Superintendent of Police Deepak Kumar said the fire started in the basement and soon leaped to the upper floors. Inspector General of Police, Lucknow, Sujit Pandey later said that prima facie, the fire seems to have been triggered by a short circuit.
The Uttar Pradesh government has ordered a magisterial probe into the blaze, while cases have also been slapped on the owners of the hotels.
Superintendent of Police, West, Vikas Chandra Tripathi said that after the incident, both SSJ International hotel owner Surendra Jaiswal and Virat hotel owners Arpit Jaiswal and Pratik Jaiswal were absconding.
The district police has ordered a safety audit of all the hotels in the area and sources told IANS that initial investigation has revealed a "whole lot of discrepancies in the two hotels".
The SSJ hotel, which had 42 rooms and a bar, does not have an approved building plan and the 27-room Virat hotel's building plan was approved as a residential premises, officials said.
Meanwhile, Chief Fire Officer A.B. Pandey revealed that there were no fire-fighting equipment installed in both hotels and that SSJ hotel, in fact, had been served a notice last month over its non-compliance of safety standards.
Due to the police recruitment exams, both the hotels were completely sold out.
Tourism Minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi meanwhile visited the injured at a medical facility and directed officials to ensure that there was adequate treatment for those injured.
Condition of two injured, who have received serious burn injuries, is critical, said doctors at the Trauma Centre.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed his condolences at the loss of lives in the incident and has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of those who were killed and Rs 50,000 each to those seriously injured.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
CCI slaps Meta with Rs 213 crore fine over WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy update
New Delhi, Nov 18: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Monday imposed a penalty of Rs 213.14 crore on social media major Meta for unfair business ways with respect to WhatsApp privacy policy update done in 2021.
Besides, the competition watchdog has directed Meta to “cease and desist” from anti-competitive practices.
Meta and WhatsApp have also been asked to implement certain behavioural remedies within a defined timeline to address the anti-competition issues, according to a CCI order.
The regulator has called for implementing various remedial measures, including barring WhatsApp from sharing data collected on its platform with other Meta companies or Meta company products for advertising purposes for five years.
Among other directions, CCI has said that sharing of user data collected on WhatsApp with other Meta companies or Meta company products for purposes other than for providing WhatsApp services shall not be made a condition for users to access WhatsApp Service in India.
The Competition Commission of India (Commission) on Monday imposed a penalty of Rs 213.14 crore on Meta for abusing its dominant position,
Passing the order against abuse of dominance, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said this (penalty) relates to how WhatsApp's 2021 Privacy Policy was implemented and how user data was collected and shared with other Meta companies.
For the case, CCI delineated two relevant markets -- OTT messaging apps through smartphones in India, and online display advertising in India. "Meta Group operating through WhatsApp was found to be dominant in the market for OTT messaging apps through smartphones in India. "Furthermore, it was also found that Meta holds a leading position compared to its competitors in online display advertising in India," CCI said in a release.
Starting from January 2021, WhatsApp notified users about updates to its terms of service and privacy policies.
The in-app notification, effective from February 8, 2021, stated that users were required to accept these terms, including expanded scope of data collection as well as mandatory data sharing with Meta companies, to continue using WhatsApp.
Under the previous privacy policy dated August 25, 2016, WhatsApp users were given the option to decide whether they wanted to share their data with Facebook, the release said.
"However, with the latest policy update in 2021, WhatsApp made data sharing with Meta mandatory for all users, removing the earlier option to opt-out. As a result, users had to accept the new terms, which include data sharing with Meta, in order to continue using the platform," it added.
The watchdog has concluded that the 2021 policy update by WhatsApp on a "take-it-or-leave-it" basis constitutes an imposition of unfair condition under the Competition Act, as it compels all users to accept expanded data collection terms and sharing of data within Meta Group without any opt out.
"Given the network effects and lack of effective alternatives, the 2021 update forces users to comply, undermining their autonomy, and constitutes an abuse of Meta's dominant position. Accordingly, the Commission finds that Meta (through WhatsApp) has contravened Section 4(2)(a)(i) of the Act," it said.
Further, CCI said that sharing of WhatsApp users' data between Meta companies for purposes other than providing WhatsApp Service creates an entry barrier for the rivals of Meta and thus, results in denial of market access in the display advertisement market.
According to the regulator, Meta has engaged in leveraging its dominant position in the OTT messaging apps through smartphones to protect its position in the online display advertising market in contravention of the competition law.
CCI has barred WhatsApp from sharing data collected on its platform with other Meta companies or Meta company products for advertising purposes for five years and the debarment period will start from the date of receipt of this order.
With respect to sharing of WhatsApp user data for purposes other than advertising, the regulator said WhatsApp's policy should include a detailed explanation of the user data shared with other Meta companies or Meta company Products.
"This explanation should specify the purpose of data sharing, linking each type of data to its corresponding purpose," it said.
The watchdog also said that sharing of user data collected on WhatsApp with other Meta companies or Meta company products for purposes other than for providing WhatsApp services shall not be made a condition for users to access WhatsApp Service in India.
Regarding sharing of WhatsApp user data for purposes other than for providing WhatsApp services, CCI said all users in India (including users who have accepted 2021 update) will be provided with the choice to manage such data sharing by way of an opt-out option prominently through an in-app notification.
Also, the regulator has asked for the option to review and modify their choice with respect to such sharing of data through a prominent tab in settings of WhatsApp application, and all future policy updates should comply with these requirements.
