Karnataka Home Minister announces plan to introduce new cyberlaw to counter fake news
Bengaluru: Karnataka's Home Minister G Parameshwara announced on Tuesday that the state government is planning to introduce a new cyberlaw to tackle the dissemination of fake news and hate speech on social media. The proposed legislation aims to hold the country heads of social media platforms accountable for the content shared through their platforms.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah echoed the sentiments of the Home Minister during a statement in Mangaluru, stating that strict actions will be taken against individuals involved in defaming others and spreading false information on social media.
To facilitate the formulation of the new law, a panel of experts from the home, information technology, and cybercrime prevention departments will be formed. This panel will provide recommendations on the nature and scope of the proposed law, based on which the legislation will be drafted.
Parameshwara expressed concerns over the challenges in dealing with cybercriminals, particularly those who operate from offshore locations. Punishing these perpetrators becomes difficult as they take advantage of their remote locations to post fake news on social media. Furthermore, social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, do not always comply with the government's requests to control the spread of false information.
To address these challenges, the proposed cyberlaw will hold the country heads of social media platforms responsible for the content available on their platforms. By making them accountable, the government believes it can effectively curb the dissemination of fake news and hate speech to a significant extent.
The Home Minister emphasized that the government is taking the issue of fake news and rumors targeting the state government, the chief minister, and other ministers on social media seriously. In response, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is planning to hold a meeting with representatives of major social media platforms to discuss the matter.
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US VP JD Vance says Lebanon not part of ceasefire, calls it ‘misunderstanding’
Budapest/Washington: US Vice President J D Vance has said that Lebanon was never included in the ceasefire understanding with Iran, describing the confusion as a “legitimate misunderstanding”.
Speaking to reporters before departing from Hungary, Vance said, “I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t. We never made that promise.”
He stressed that the United States had not included Lebanon in the scope of the ceasefire at any stage.
His remarks come amid continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, where more than 200 people were reported killed, even as ceasefire talks between Iran and the US move forward.
Vance said Israel had “offered … to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful”.
He warned that if Iran allows the situation in Lebanon to affect the negotiations, it could derail the talks.
“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice,” he said.
