INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Ministry of electronics and IT has been asked to get a written commitment from Facebook
parliamentary standing committee on IT, headed by BJP lawmaker Anurag Thakur, also told officials of the ministry of electronics and IT or
MeitY to furnish all written communication and queries sent to Facebook and its response, a member of the panel told PTI on condition of
anonymity.
"The chairman told the ministry officials to get a written commitment from Facebook and other social media platforms with an
chairman, members of the panel said the government should also get in writing the details of steps Facebook and other social networking
platforms have taken or will take to avoid their misuse.
After the meeting, Mr Thakur posted a tweet inviting questions and queries from
the general public on online security and privacy.
Panel members at the meeting also said that India is still playing catch up on the issue
of a robust IT data protection policy.
It is learnt that they expressed shock at the inadequate data available with MeitY regarding India's
unless it gets its act together, the members said
Committee members also said MeitY should take a long term view of issues and put systems and a regulatory framework to protect the privacy
Facebook, seeking its response over user data breach and details of the measures it has put in place to ensure the safety and prevention of
misuse of personal data.
The data of over 80 million Facebook users was allegedly harvested by data analytics and political consulting firm
Cambridge Analytica, leading to a global backlash against the company.
Facebook admitted that nearly 5.62 lakh people in India were
"potentially affected" by the incident.
According to sources, the government is "examining" the responses submitted by Facebook and
