According to sources India warned social media giant Facebook and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg of "stringent action" including summoning him over "misuse" of data to allegedly influence electoral process. He said "We fully support freedom of press, freedom of speech and expression and free exchange of ideas on social media".
Further Union Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told the media "But any attempt to covert or overt by the social media including Facebook of trying to influence India's electoral process through undesirable means will neither be appreciated nor tolerated". Meanwhile the warning comes amid reports that a data analytics firm that worked with US President Donald Trump's election team allegedly harvested millions of Facebook profiles of US voters to influence their choice at the ballot box.
Moreover Prasad, a senior BJP leader, reminded Zuckerberg of powers of
India's IT Act, saying "you better note the observation of IT Minister of
India. Furthermore Prasad said the government was in touch with the US Federal
Trade Commission and the Department of Justice to assess the privacy violations
of Indian users.
