Parl panel summons Meta, X, Google over social media regulation
The companies will be required to explain the measures they have in place to safeguard the privacy and interests of women, children, farmers, rural citizens, labourers and the general public
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology has summoned representatives of major digital and social media platforms, along with senior officials from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), for a meeting on August 3 to discuss the regulation of social media and digital platforms.
Chairman of the panel and BJP Lok Sabha MP from Godda Nishikant Dubey said the committee has called representatives from Meta (Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp), X, Snapchat and Google to appear before it on August 3 at 4 pm.
The companies will be required to explain the measures they have in place to safeguard the privacy and interests of women, children, farmers, rural citizens, labourers and the general public.
In May, Dubey had announced that the panel would summon executives from major digital and social media companies, including Meta, X, Google and Amazon, as part of its ongoing examination of net neutrality and equal access to the Internet.
He had asserted that all 140 crore Internet users in the country should enjoy equal rights under consumer protection laws, irrespective of the platform or service they use.
Dubey had said the committee was examining whether telecom operators and digital platforms were creating preferential access for certain categories of users, including postpaid mobile subscribers and paying customers on digital platforms. “The panel is assessing whether such practices undermine the principles of net neutrality and equal treatment of Internet users,” he had said.
