Shiv Sena slams Centre over new IT rules

New Delhi Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi on Wednesday slammed the government saying that the new IT rules instead of seeking accountability have chosen to control social media platforms by bypassing all privacy norms of individuals, violating the basic Right to Privacy enshrined in India's constitutional commitments to its citizens.

Chaturvedi said that she hopes the courts will take a "nuanced and balanced call" on this issue. Chaturvedi, who is a Rajya Sabha member, said "Every country is bound to create its law mechanism to ensure accountability of platforms." She said that over the years we have seen how these platforms have become tools for propaganda, fake news and manipulated narrative without being answerable to the authorities. "These platforms adhere to norms set by regions like EU, Australia, Singapore. US even summoned Mark Zuckerberg in publicly broadcasted questioning to understand their role in election outcomes. WhatsApp has been breaching all privacy norms of Indian citizens while looking at India as a market to profiteer," she said.