Tag: fake news

Won’t Notify Fact-Checking Unit Till July 10, Centre Tells HC; Two New Pleas Filed Against IT Rules

The Centre on Wednesday told the Bombay High Court it was extending till July 10 its earlier statement that it won’t notify its fact-checking unit to identify fake news against the government on social media, even as two new petitions were filed challenging the recently amended IT Rules.

The Union government had in April told the HC that the fact-checking unit would not be notified till July 5. The statement was made when the court was hearing a petition filed by stand-up comic Kunal Kamra challenging the constitutional validity of the Information Technology Rules.

On Wednesday, a division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale was informed that two new petitions have also been filed challenging the Rules.

The petitions filed by the Editors Guild of India and the Association of Indian Magazines claim that the Rules are arbitrary and unconstitutional.

The court said it would hear all the three petitions from July 6.

“We shall take up the petitions for final disposal from July 6 onwards. The petitioners’ counsels shall complete their arguments on July 7 after which we shall set a date for the Union government to put forth their arguments,” the court said.

“In view of the dates fixed for hearing, the Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh says that the statement made earlier by the Centre shall stand extended till July 10,” the court added.

On April 6, 2023, the Union government promulgated certain amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, including a provision for a fact-checking unit to flag fake or false or misleading online content related to the government.

The three petitions sought the court to declare the amended Rules unconstitutional and direct the government to restrain from acting against any individual under the Rules.

The Union government in its affidavit filed in comedian Kamra’s petition in April said that the “role of the fact-checking unit is restricted to any business of the Centre, which may include information about policies, programmes, notifications, rules, regulations, implementation thereof, etc”.

“The fact check unit may only identify fake or false or misleading information and not any opinion, satire or artistic impression. Therefore, the aim of the government regarding the introduction of the impugned provision is explicitly clear and suffers from no purported arbitrariness or unreasonableness as alleged by the petitioner (Kamra),” the Centre’s affidavit had said.

As per the amendments, intermediaries such as social media companies will have to act against content identified by the fact-checking unit or risk losing their safe harbour protections under Section 79 of the IT Act.

“Safe harbour” protections allow intermediaries to avoid liabilities for what third parties post on their websites.

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Man Arrested in China for Misusing ChatGPT to Generate Fake News of Train Crash

Chinese police have detained a man for allegedly generating fake news of a train crash and disseminating it online using artificial intelligence technology to “concoct information” and post it on multiple accounts, in what was reported to be China’s first arrest for misuse of ChatGPT.

Police in northwestern Gansu province said in a statement on Sunday that a suspect surnamed Hong had been detained for “using artificial intelligence technology to concoct false and untrue information”.

The case first caught the attention of the cyber division of a county police bureau when they spotted a fake news article that claimed nine people had been killed in a local train accident on April 25, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on Monday.

The cybersecurity officers in Kongtong county found the article simultaneously posted by more than 20 accounts on Baijiahao, a blog-style platform run by Chinese search engine giant Baidu.

The stories had received more than 15,000 clicks by the time it came to authorities’ attention, it said.

The Gansu public security department said Hong was suspected of the crime of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”, a charge that normally carries a maximum sentence of five years. But in cases that are deemed especially severe, offenders can be jailed for 10 years and given additional penalties, the Post reported.

This is the first time the public has been made aware of an arrest by Chinese authorities after Beijing’s first provisions to regulate the use of “deepfake” technology officially took effect in January, it said.

The police said they traced the origins of the article to a company owned by the suspect Hong, which operated personal media platforms registered in Shenzhen in Guangdong province in southern China. Some 10 days later a police team searched Hong’s home and his computer and detained him.

The statement said Hong confessed to bypassing Baijiahao’s duplication check function to publish on multiple accounts he had acquired. He input the elements of trending social stories in China from past years into ChatGPT to quickly produce different versions of the same fake story and uploaded them to his Baijiahao accounts, it said.

While ChatGPT is not directly available to Chinese IP addresses, Chinese users can still access its service if they have a reliable VPN connection.

Chinese IT outlets were experimenting with their versions of the ChatGPT after Microsoft and Google announced their innovations.

China closely monitors its social media through firewalls, especially Sina Weibo, which has over 592 million users to ensure no critical content against the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC).

China’s top internet regulator has long voiced concern that unchecked development and use of deep synthesis technology could lead to its use in criminal activities such as online scams or defamation.

As ChatGPT has gone viral in recent months, China’s law enforcement agencies have repeatedly voiced suspicion, and even warnings, about the technology.

In one of the first comments on the chatbot made by the Chinese security apparatus, police in Beijing specifically warned the public in February to be wary of “rumours” generated by ChatGPT, the Post reported

OnePlus recently launched its first tablet in India, the OnePlus Pad, which is only sold in a Halo Green colour option. With this tablet, OnePlus has stepped into a new territory that’s dominated by Apple’s iPad. We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi Urges Citizens to Check Facts Before Sharing Fake News on Social Media

Emphasising on the need to create awareness against fake news, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that social media cannot be underestimated and that a small piece of fake news generated by it can create chaos. The Prime Minister appealed for people to check facts before sharing messages on social media.

Addressing a ‘Chintan Shivir’ in Haryana of home ministers of states via video conferencing, Prime Minister Modi said, “For the safety and rights of law-abiding citizens, stringent action against negative forces is our responsibility. A small piece of fake news can kick up a storm across the nation. We will have to educate people to think before forwarding anything, verify before believing it.”

He said people must be made aware of the various mechanisms that are now available on all social media platforms to verify messages before forwarding them.

“Fact check of fake news is a must. Technology plays a big role in this. People must be made aware of mechanisms to verify messages before forwarding them,” the Prime Minister said.

He also said that one should not limit social media to being the source of information.

He added that a piece of single fake news has the capability to snowball into a matter of national concern.

The Prime Minister said during the reservation issue, the country had to face losses due to fake news. He said people should think 10 times before forwarding any messages on social media.

He stressed on the need to educate people about analysing and verifying information before forwarding it on social media platforms.

Also, while highlighting the importance of having a smart law and order system as par with advanced technologies, the Prime Minister said the agencies have to be 10 steps ahead of the crime world.

He said, “Today the nature of crimes is changing. We need to understand the new age technologies. We entered the 5G era. Hence we need to be more vigilant.”

With 5G technology, PM said there will be manifold improvement in facial recognition technology, automatic number plate recognition technology, drone and CCTV technology.

“With the advancement in 5G technology, awareness is equally important. It is to be ensured that India’s law and order system becomes smart. Technology not only helps in the prevention of crimes but also in crime investigation. We will have to be 10 steps ahead of the crime world,” he said.

The coordination between agencies of all states and between central and state agencies is essential, PM said.

He said the next 25 years will be for the creation of an ‘amrit peedhi’. This ‘amrit peedhi’ will be created by imbibing the resolutions of ‘Panch Pran’ – creation of a developed India, freedom from all colonial mindset, pride in heritage, unity and most importantly, citizen duty.

The Shivir will deliberate on issues like modernization of police forces, cybercrime management, increased use of IT in the criminal justice system, land border management, coastal security, women safety, drug trafficking, among others, added the statement.

“For safety and rights of law-abiding citizens, stringent action against negative forces is our responsibility…A small piece of fake news can kick up a storm across the nation…We will have to educate people to think before forwarding anything and verify before believing it,” the prime minister said.

The Chintan Shivir of home ministers in Surajkund, Prime Minister said is an excellent example of cooperative federalism. He said States can learn from each other, take inspiration from each other and work together for the betterment of the country.

He said the next 25 years will be for the creation of an ‘amrit peedhi’. This ‘amrit peedhi’ will be created by imbibing the resolutions of ‘Panch Pran’ – creation of a developed India, freedom from all colonial mindset, pride in heritage, unity and most importantly, citizen duty.

The two-day Chintan Shivir is being held at Surajkund, Haryana.

According to Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) statement, the Chintan Shivir of Home Ministers is an endeavour to provide a national perspective to policy formulation on internal security-related matters. The Shivir, in the spirit of cooperative federalism, will bring more synergy in planning and coordination between various stakeholders at the centre and state levels.

The Shivir will deliberate on issues like modernisation of police forces, cybercrime management, increased use of IT in the criminal justice system, land border management, coastal security, women safety, drug trafficking, among others, added the statement.

Apple launched the iPad Pro (2022) and the iPad (2022) alongside the new Apple TV this week. We discuss the company’s latest products, along with our review of the iPhone 14 Pro on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

 

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