India asks WhatsApp to prevent abuse after crowd killings



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NEW DELHI – The Indian government has asked WhatsApp to take "immediate steps" to prevent the social media platform from being used to spread rumors and irresponsible statements [19659005] At least 20 people were killed in mostly rural villages in several Indian states by attacking crowds that had been inflamed by social media. Victims were accused in viral messages of belonging to gangs trying to kidnap children. The brutal attacks, which began in early May, also left dozens wounded.

Although the Indian authorities clarified that the rumors were true and that the targeted people were innocent, the deadly and brutal attacks Cell phones and shared on social media spread across the country.

The Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said in a statement that the lynchings were linked to "irresponsible and explosive messages" broadcast on WhatsApp. It was not specific about the preventive measures it should be taken by WhatsApp, which belongs to Facebook.

"While the law and the order of the machines takes steps to apprehend the guilty, the abuse of platforms like WhatsApp for repeated circulation" The Ministry said that WhatsApp "can not escape responsibility and responsibility. "

" The government also expressed in unequivocal terms that WhatsApp must take immediate action to end this threat and ensure that their platform form is not used for such malafide activities, "the statement said. "A deep disapproval of these developments has been passed on to the WhatsApp management and they have been advised that the necessary corrective measures should be taken to prevent the proliferation of these false and sometimes motivated / sensational messages."

WhatsApp stated in a "We will seriously consider proposals from any social and technological science perspective that propose projects that enrich our understanding of the problem of misinformation on WhatsApp," The Indian Express, a language daily English quoted a spokesman for WhatsApp saying "the situation is a public health problem that will require solutions from outside the company, including the government".

The official said that "responsibility is beyond any technology enterprise" and "requires partners", according to Pope R.

"I think it is up to the Indian government to decide what is the right mechanism to deal with the series of killings that occurs. It's going to have to be a collaboration, "said the manager.

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