DNA Edit: Battle fake news - Linking profiles with Aaadhar is the way ahead

India’s battle with fake news is well and truly on. The Centre has told the Supreme Court (SC) that linking individual profiles on social media platforms with Aadhaar or any verifiable government document will help prevent antisocial elements from spreading hatred.

The submission, made by the Attorney General, came on a petition filed by Facebook Inc, which sought transfer of petitions pending against the company from three high courts (HC) to the SC. The social media firm, which also owns WhatsApp, had claimed that similar petitions in all HC demanded the linking of Aadhaar with social media accounts for better crime detection.

The AG’s comments assume significance in the light of the recent developments in Jammu and Kashmir where the Centre has re-imposed restrictions on internet and communications links following instances of stone-pelting and peddling of fake news on social media.

The Facebook counsel requested the court to admit the transfer petition and decide the validity of linking Aadhaar with individual user profiles on Facebook, WhatsApp, Google and Twitter. Governments, including India, have been devising ways to get a handle on social media to control, among other things, the spread of hate and violence.

Social media firms in the West are under fire after the recent mass shooting in the US, which was linked to a hate-filled manifesto posted online. Facebook, Google, Twitter, Microsoft and others are part of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism, which shares information about threats.

If one of the companies discovers terrorist content, it can put a unique identifier of the image into a database, which helps other firms quickly find it on their own sites and take it down. Both Facebook and Twitter said the systems have helped them remove more than 90% of ISIS and al-Qaeda content before any users report it.