MeitY

The Centre on Thursday notified the establishment of a state-appointed body to fact-check all government-related content online deemed as misinformation or disinformation, a move that drew sharp criticism from internet and free speech activists who said it will lead to censorship.While the fact-checking unit of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) is the “preferred agency” for the task, other government-appointed fact-checking organisations may also be notified in future, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, minister of state for…

The Indian government has initiated a research project in Blockchain technology to develop a comprehensive technology stack for end-to-end blockchain application development. Media reports have confirmed that the project, named 'Design and Development of a Unified Blockchain Framework for offering…

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is giving itself authority to constitute a fact checking unit with sweeping powers to determine what news is fake or false with respect to the business of the central government, and content take down orders to intermediaries, the Editors Guild of India (EGI) said in a statement on Friday. The EGI said that it is "deeply disturbed" by the move and has sought its withdrawal. The EGI is an association of news editors in the country. "The Ministry's notification…

Internet firms like Google, Facebook and Twitter may lose protection under safe harbour if they fail to remove content identified by the government-notified fact-checker as false or misleading information, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Thursday.He said that fact-checkers are a reference point to fight against misinformation and rejected arguments that it will adversely impact "free speech". "If you want section 79 safe harbour protection as an intermediary then you have some…

The industry on Thursday said the new rules for online gaming will spur innovation, boost investor confidence and weed out gambling platforms while making the sector globally competitive.The norms are expected to help reduce regulatory fragmentation at the state level, and foster a more stable business environment, the industry said in one voice as it described the regulations as "watershed moment", "game-changer" and "landmark".All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) termed it a decisive first step for comprehensive…

Google announced in January that it will layoff about 12,000 employees, or 6% of the company’s workforce. The departments that have been impacted by the layoff included Google Cloud, Chrome to Android, strategy, recruiting, go-to-market teams and the company's in-house research and development (R&D) division called Area 120, reports said.MeitY Startup Hub, an initiative of the IT Ministry, and Google on Tuesday announced training and development support to 100 Indian early to mid-stage startups, as part of Appscale…

Dead by Daylight Mobile has been removed from the Google Play store and App Store in India. In a tweet, developer Behaviour Interactive confirmed that it received an interim order from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), demanding that the survival-horror game be removed from mobile app storefronts. While no explicit reason was mentioned, the government has previously banned apps over similar security concerns around Chinese apps such as PUBG Mobile and Free Fire. In regions such as Southeast…

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on Thursday approved the setting up of an electronics manufacturing cluster project at Kotur and Belur industrial area in Karnataka’s Dharwad district.In response to a question from ET, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and IT, said, “We approved the electronics cluster yesterday, which (already) has (recieved) investment of Rs. 350 crore from several companies, and will create around 18,000 jobs. It will have economic activity worth Rs.…

The union government has informed the High Court of Karnataka that being a significant intermediary, micro blogging site Twitter has additional responsibility, and it was its duty “to provide details of account holders”.Additional Solicitor General R Sankaranarayanan who appeared for the central government, gave the examples of “dangerous” tweets that “is going to affect the integrity, sovereignty of India or is going to create a public (dis) order; then naturally we will step in and either we will issue a takedown…

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) will on Thursday conduct the first stakeholder consultation meeting on the Digital India Bill to replace the 23-year-old Information Technology Act of 2000.Minister of state for electronics and information technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar will be in Bengaluru on Thursday to meet industry representatives, lawyers, intermediaries and consumer groups among others to discuss the principles the proposed law will be based on and invite their inputs."The…