Ravi Shankar: Govt will take action after Facebook responds
After whistleblower Christopher Wylie emphatically stated that controversial UK-based data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica worked extensively in India, the government has become alert. IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad shot off notices to Facebook and Cambridge Analytica regarding the data breach issue. Prasad told reporters that action would be taken once they furnish their reply. He re-iterated, "We are tough when it comes to data protection."
What is the Cambridge Analytica-Facebook controversy?
This scandal erupted after whistleblower Christopher Wylie revealed that data firm CA harvested about 50mn Facebook users' personal data to influence key events like the US presidential elections and Brexit. This hullabaloo reached India with BJP and Congress slamming one another for using CA's services.
Right after the controversy surfaced, Prasad warned social media
Earlier, Prasad warned social media platforms like Facebook of "strong action" if any attempt was made to influence India's elections. He declared the government fully supports "freedom of press, speech and expression" and "exchange of ideas" on social media. But, it is also committed to free and fair elections. He also threatened to summon Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg if data theft allegations were true.
Now, Prasad has followed up on this earlier warning
As IT Minister, Prasad issued a notice to social networking giant Facebook seeking its response over data breach and measures taken to prevent misuse of personal data. He gave it a deadline of April 7 to give a detailed response. He also asked whether Facebook was previously engaged by any entity to "manipulate the Indian electoral process." A similar notice was sent to CA.
