Parliamentary panel justified in checking social media activities, says cyber expert Pawan Duggal 

New Delhi [India], Feb 25 (ANI): Cyber expert Pawan Duggal on Monday endorsed the Parliamentary Committee on Information Technology’s move to check activities on social media platform while asserting that the same should have been done earlier.
“This committee is very clear and strict in its objective and such thing was the need of the time. However, it could have happened earlier,” he told ANI.
Talking about India’s significance for these IT companies, Duggal said: “India is the largest country in the world so far as the user base of these social media platforms is concerned. Hence, every company wants to use the Indian market but does not want to adhere to laws."
"Often many companies have argued that they are based out of foreign locations and are governed by their laws. However, our law clearly says that even if you are a foreign company and are providing facilities in India, they must follow the Indian Acts that are applicable to them,” he said.
He also outlined the seriousness of fake news menace and said, “Here we can say that fake news menace is also on the rise. Last year as many as 33 people lost their lives due to such fake news. Hence, the government wants to take stringent measures but this can only be done if these service providers provide information to the government.”
Earlier in the day, Parliamentary Committee on Information Technology head Anurag Thakur had allowed Colin Crowell, Vice President and Global Policy Head of Twitter to appear before the committee and directed the micro-blogging site to ensure no interference of foreign entities in Indian elections. (ANI)